A mystery disease, first discovered in three children, who had eaten with the bat, has killed more than 50 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the last five weeks.

As of 16 February, there have been 431 cases and 53 deaths in two outbreaks in remote villages. The World Health Organization said on Tuesday, February 25 that unknown cause of these two groups of disease cases is being investigated.

“Outbreaks, which have seen cases growing rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The accurate reason is unknown,” said Tariq Jasrevik, a spokesman of a briefing on Tuesday.

He said that villages have limited monitoring capacity and health infrastructure.

On February 13, major outbreaks were reported from Boment village, in which 45 people were killed out of 419 cases. According to the WHO, about half dead within 48 hours of getting sick, showing symptoms, including fever, pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

WHO Health officials said that 13 cases samples conducted negative tests for Ebola and Marburg. Other possible causes, including malaria, food poisoning, typhoid, meningitis or other viral hemorrhagic fever.

The previous outbreak of unknown disease included eight deaths in 12 cases, reported from Boloko village in Bolomba on 21 January.

The outbreak was detected the death of three children under the age of five, who showed symptoms such as fever and fatigue, which progressed for bleeding signs of nose and vomiting.

According to a Reuters report, the children had eaten a dead bat before falling ill.

Which has not found any link between two groups of cases. “We are seeing whether it is another infection or whether it is some toxic agent. We have to see what can be done and at what point that supports,” Jasrevik said, keeping in mind the similar outbreaks in the past.

In December 2024, an unknown outbreak in Congo was eventually identified as malaria.

There is an increase in diseases that jump from animals to humans, known as zoonotic diseases. This has been a growing concern and the World Health Organization (WHO) said that such outbreaks have increased by 60% in the last decade.