Congo mystery disease: Symptoms, WHO response, and what we know about the deadly illness spreading in the DRC

A mystery illness is spreading in the southwestern Kwango province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Security and local health authorities. The unknown disease is so far known to have killed up to 143 people out of a known 376 who were infected, although there are some discrepancies in the numbers. Here’s what you need to know. What is the disease? Currently, no health agency has said they know what the disease is. In a statement from the DRC’s Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Security posted on X on December 3, the agency said the disease was of “still unknown origin.” What that means for now is that the disease could be something entirely new—or it could be a known disease that is simply not identified yet. University of California, Los Angeles epidemiologist Anne Rimoin told NBC News that diagnosing illnesses in the Congo can often be challenging due to limited health infrastructure and existing underlying health issues in people in the region. “It could be influenza, it could be Ebola, it could be Marburg, it could be meningitis, it could be measles,” Rimoin said. “At this point, we really just don’t know.” But the disease also has the possibility of being something new. Infectious disease physician Dr. Abraar Karan of Stanford Medicine told NBC that the outbreak “does raise alarm bells.” That’s because, in that area of the Congo, humans live close to wildlife, increasing the risk of a zoonotic transmission—which is when a disease that previously only affected animals starts infecting humans whose immune systems might not be able to fight it off. What are the disease’s symptoms? Right now, DRC health authorities are describing the mystery disease as having “flu like” symptoms. The Associated Press reports that provincial health minister Apollinaire Yumba said symptoms included the following: Fever Headache Cough Anaemia One local epidemiologist said children and women were the most gravely affected by the illness, according to Reuters. At this time, it is unknown how the disease is transmitted, whether through the air, water, bodily fluids, or other means. Local authorities are advising the local population to avoid contact with the dead to avoid contaminating themselves with the mystery illness. How many people have become sick and how many have died? There is currently some discrepancy in the number of reported deaths. According to the DRC’s Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Security, 376 people had become sick as of Tuesday, and 79 people had died—giving the mystery illness an extremely high mortality rate. Yet local authorities closer to the outbreak told the AP and Reuters that the death toll could be as high as 143. The deaths all reportedly occurred over a period of just over two weeks, between November 10 and November 25. What that suggests is that both the spread of the disease and the deaths caused by it could now be higher than official figures are reporting. How far has the disease spread? As of the time of this writing, the disease is only known to be circulating in the Kwango province of the DRC. However, that doesn’t guarantee the disease has not already spread to other areas. Is this the start of another pandemic? The timing similarities between this mystery illness and COVID-19 are sure to give some people anxiety. Like COVID-19, this disease also first started making itself known in the final two months of the year. When that happened with COVID-19 in 2019, the world had a full-blown pandemic on its hands by March 2020. This disease also has similarities to COVID-19 due to its flu-like symptoms. However, it’s important to stress that this disease does not mean the world is on the cusp of another pandemic. While anything is possible, right now there is just not enough known about this mysterious illness to suggest that it is or is not a threat to the global population. It is still possible the disease could be an existing known one that simply remains unidentified to health officials at this time. Are the World Health Organization and CDC doing anything about it? Yes, both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are both reportedly taking action, but to a limited degree. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told NBC and BBC that it has “dispatched a team to the remote area to collect samples for lab investigations.” Fast Company has reached out to the WHO for additional details. A spokesperson for the CDC told Fast Company that it is aware of the illness and that “U.S. Government staff, including those from U.S. CDC’s country office in Kinshasa, are in contact with DRC’s Ministry of Health and stand ready to provide additional support if needed.”