Mystery Illness in Congo Has Killed More Than 50 People Hours After They Felt Sick

Mystery Illness in Congo Has Killed More Than 50 People Hours After They Felt Sick
Teams of health workers from the Congolese Red Cross usher a child away during a mass burial at the Musigiko cemetery in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo on Feb. 20, 2025. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/Getty Images
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KINSHASA, Congo—An unknown illness first discovered in three children who ate a bat has rapidly killed more than 50 people in northwestern Congo over the past five weeks, health experts say.

The interval between the onset of symptoms – which include fever, vomiting and internal bleeding—and death has been 48 hours in most cases and “that’s what’s really worrying,” said Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center.