In recent months, disease surveillance has identified increases in cases and deaths three times in different areas of the country, which caused follow -up investigations to confirm the cause and provide the necessary support, who said in a statement.
Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, sweating, rigid neck, muscle aches, multiple joint pain and body pain, a liquid or bleeding of the nose, cough, vomiting and diarrhea.
Currently, the RDC faces multiple challenges, with a conflict in the east, while the Congolese armed forces face the M23 backed by Rwanda, with the struggle involving several other armed groups.
Illness and death
There have been a series of outbreaks and deaths in the province of Consigna since the beginning of 2025, said the UN Health Agency.
The most recent group occurred in the health area of Basankusu, where last week 141 additional people fell ill, without deaths so far. About 158 cases and 58 deaths were reported in the same area in early February.
In January, Bolamba Health Zone reported 12 cases, including eight deaths.
Important challenges
The remoteness of the affected areas limits access to medical care, including tests and treatment, who said.
Basekusu and Bolomba are about 180 kilometers away from more than 300 kilometers from the provincial capital Mbandaka. The two locations are accessible by road or by the Congo River.
However, the bad roads and communication ties are important challenges, said the health agency of the UN, which continues to support local authorities to reinforce research and response measures, with more than 80 community workers trained to detect and inform cases and deaths.
More efforts are needed to reinforce the evidence, the detection of early cases and the reports, he said who, who remains on the ground, supporting health workers, collaborating closely with the health authorities at all levels.
Greater surveillance
The UN Health Agency has delivered emergency medical supplies, including test kits, and developed detailed protocols to improve disease research.
The increase in disease surveillance has been identified in a total of 1,096 sick people and 60 deaths in Basankusu and Bolomba that conform to a broad definition of the mysterious disease.
In response to the last cluster, a national rapid response team of Kinshasa and Équateur was deployed, including OTS Health Emergencies experts, in Basankusu and Bolomba to investigate the situation.
Experts are intensifying disease surveillance, conducting interviews with community members to understand the background and provide treatment for diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis, who reported.
Continuous test
The initial laboratory analysis has produced negative results for Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease.
Around half of the samples gave positive for malaria, which is common in the region, who said.
More tests will be performed for meningitis. Food, water and environmental samples will also be analyzed for any possible pollution.
