An outbreak of an unidentified infection with a high fatality rate and rapid onset of death has been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a World Health Organization emergency bulletin. As of February 15, 431 cases and 53 deaths have been recorded in two outbreaks in Equateur Province in the northwest of the country (a fatality rate of 12.3 percent, with the outbreak with 12 cases accounting for 66.7 percent). Death occurred within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms in 48.9 percent of those who died. The main clinical manifestations include fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, and general body aches, sweating, runny nose, neck stiffness, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, and intestinal cramps.
The outbreak was initially suspected of being caused by Ebola fever, which is endemic in the region. However, analysis of biospecimens from 18 patients conducted by the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa did not reveal any Ebola or Marburg fever pathogens. Further testing, including metagenomic analysis, is currently underway. Differential diagnoses include malaria, viral hemorrhagic fever, water or food poisoning, typhoid fever, and meningitis. The source of infection and epidemiological links between the two outbreaks have not yet been established.
