A mysterious illness in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has raised global fears, but researchers say it is unlikely linked to a new infectious pathogen like Ebola. The disease has already claimed 60 lives among over 1,000 infected people.
According to Mike Ryan, head of emergencies for the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak appears to be caused by some kind of poisoning event. In the hardest hit village, people who became ill shared a common water source.
The “broad case definition” used by WHO includes symptoms such as fever, headache, and vomiting. Testing has ruled out involvement of Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic viruses, which typically cause death after symptoms appear.
Researchers are now exploring other possibilities, including acute respiratory infections complicated by malaria and mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya. Diagnoses for these arboviruses are scarce in the DRC.
The exact cause of the disease remains unknown, but experts say it is unlikely a previously undetected pathogen is responsible.
Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/mysterious-congo-outbreak-likely-linked-contaminated-water-researchers-say