A cluster of deaths linked to a mysterious illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be the result of a poisoning or bacterial meningitis, the WHO has suggested.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of the AFC rebel alliance that also includes M23, addresses a press conference at the Serena Hotel in Goma, North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo January 30,

The World Health Organization warns an outbreak of an unidentified illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to more than 419 cases and caused at least 53 deaths. The disease causes symptoms consistent with hemorrhagic fever,

Judith Tuluka Suminwa, the prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, says her government has ruled out direct talks with M23 after the Rwanda-backed rebel group seized eastern cities including Goma and Bukavu in an advance that’s killed at least 8,

At least 50 people have died from a mystery illness discovered in three children who ate a dead bat, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Newsweek has contacted the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

A yet-unidentified illness has killed 53 people and potentially infected hundreds more in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The World Health Organization is investigating the outbreak.

Only weeks after President Donald Trump forced the United States to exit the World Health Organization, experts say that millions of lives are already at risk, and WHO officials are now sounding the alarm about an “unknown” disease in central Africa that can kill within days.

Despite growing international pressure, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is standing firm on its decision not to have direct talks with the M23 rebel group making major advances in the country’s eastern region.

Men sit outside the general hospital in Basankusu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where some victims of unidentified illnesses are being treated, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/)

The World Health Organization has released data showing that at least 431 people have been diagnosed with an unknown illness in two remote villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

MONUSCO, the U.N. peacekeeping force in the DRC, said the reported killings were under investigation but remained unverified.