Another mystery disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has emerged in recent weeks, resulting in at least 60 deaths, officials say.

It follows a similar event in September 2024, referred to as "Disease X" before the World Health Organization (WHO) identified it as a cocktail of several known acute respiratory illnesses complicated by malaria and malnutrition.

These new outbreaks could have similar origins, but it will likely take time to determine exactly what the cause is.

More than 1,000 cases have been reported across the DR Congo's Equateur province and 141 cases of a disease have been reported in Basankusu's health zone. A separate outbreak in early February consisted of 158 cases and 58 deaths.

In January, Bolamba village reported 12 cases and eight deaths.

Health authorities in the DR Congo and WHO experts are carrying out investigations to determine the cause of the illness and deaths.

Early lab tests ruled out

© Deutsche Welle