“The outbreaks, which have seen cases rise rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown,” a World Health Organization spokesperson said. More than 50 people have died in recent weeks in two clusters of illness cases with the unknown cause being investigated in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
As of Feb. 16, there have been 431 cases and 53 deaths in two outbreaks in remote villages in separate health zones in Equateur province, the WHO said in a bulletin. The country is roughly the size of Western Europe.
“The outbreaks, which have seen cases rise rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told a briefing Tuesday.