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The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that a worrying mystery illness is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The unknown disease has so far sickened hundreds and killed dozens since reports of it first emerged in early January. Heres what to know about the outbreaks so far. What is the disease? At this time, health officials do not know what the disease is. In the WHO’s weekly bulletin for the February 10- 16 period, the agency says the unknown disease poses a significant public health threat. The disease is currently active in two regional clusters, according to the report, and worryingly, of those who have died from it, nearly half of the deaths happened within just 48 hours of symptoms emerging. The first regional cluster where the disease made itself known is in the Boloko Village, in the Bolomba Health Zone region of the DRC. In that village, three children reportedly died from the disease between January 10-13. Then in early February, the disease reportedly spread to its second regional cluster in Bomate Village, Basankusu Health Zone, located in the northwest of the DRC. Initially, there were 20 reported deaths from the disease there between January 30 and February 9. As Reuters reports, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told a briefing on Tuesday that “The outbreaks, which have seen cases rise rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown. How many people have died or become sick? Unfortunately, health authorities now say that both the number of cases and the number of deaths have risen sharply since the first initial reports came in for both outbreak clusters. WHO says that as of February 15, a total of 431 people have become sick across both clusters. In total, there have been 53 known deaths from the illness. That represents a case fatality rate (CFR) of 12.2%. When breaking down the illnesses and deaths by regional clusters, 12 cases and 8 deaths have occurred in the Bolomba Health Zone, where the disease was first reported. That means that in that single zone, the disease has a case fatality rate of 66.7%. But it is the second cluster, in the Basankusu Health Zone, where the majority of cases and deaths have occurred. In the Basankusu Health Zone, there have been 419 cases with 45 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 10.7%. How far has the disease spread? As of the WHOs bulletin, the unknown disease has only been reported in the Bolomba Health Zone and Basankusu Health Zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two areas are relatively close to each other and are located in the northwestern portion of the country. Currently, the disease is not reported to have spread to any other areas of the DRC or neighboring countries How does the disease spread? It is currently unknown how the disease spreads. Health authorities have reported that trace-back data shows the outbreak is thought to have first happened in the Bolomba Health Zone. Multiple children became sick with the disease. According to WHO, Reports indicate that the children had consumed a bat carcass prior to onset of signs and symptom.” This suggests that the disease may be spread by the consumption of animals that are harboring it, but this is not a certainty. It is unknown if researchers have discovered a direct link between bat consumption and the outbreak of the disease. Diseases can also have multiple routes of transmission. What are the symptoms of the disease? The WHOs bulletin states that the children who first came down with symptoms after eating the bat suffered from the following: fever headache diarrhoea fatigue Those symptoms later transitioned into: subconjunctival haemorrhage epistaxis haematemesis However, the range of symptoms across all cases is more broad. Health authorities say infected persons may produce a number of symptoms, including: fever chills headache myalgia body aches sweating rhinorrhea neck stiffness cough vomiting diarrhoea abdominal cramps Could this be the start of another pandemic? It is much too early to say whether the mystery illness that has broken out in the DRC could be the beginning of the next pandemic. Health authorities simply know too little about the disease and how it spreads at this time. However, its worth noting that in December, there were reports of another mystery illness in the DRC, and that disease was later found out to be severe malaria, reported Reuters. In other words, just because the disease is a mystery right now, doesnt mean it’s not simply an existing illness that health officials have previously identified. However, WHO does say that tests have ruled out other diseases, including Ebola and Marburg. The exclusion of these diseases raises concerns about a severe infectious or toxic agent being behind the as-of-yet-unknown disease. Other possibilities for the mystery disease include malaria, viral haemorrhagicfever, food or water poisoning, typhoid fever, and meningitis, according to WHO. Or it could turn out to be something totally new. For now, health authorities simply need more time to determine what it is.
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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Total active U.S. housing inventory for sale recently fell by 42,133 homes, from 871,509 in December 2024 to 829,376 in January 2025, according to the latest Realtor.com data. Historically, national active inventory usually declines during this seasonal month-over-month window, with the average decline since 2017 being -69,646 between December and January. The fact that inventory is rising year-over-year, combined with January’s smallest inventory decline for the month since Realtor.com began publishing data in summer 2016, strongly suggests that national active housing inventory for sale is likely to end the year higher. Heading into 2025, the average forecast model tracked by ResiClub projected U.S. active inventory for sale to increase by 12.5% in 2025. Through the end of January 2025, active inventory is growing at a rate of 25% on a year-over-year basis. In markets that maintain this (or greater) level of inventory growth, homebuyers will gain more leverage and power. Some markets that are sellers markets could become balanced markets, and some markets that are balanced markets could become buyers markets. Historically speaking, national active inventory usually begins its seasonal decline around August, and then begins to rise again around March. (Note: The seasonal cycle for new listings is a little different; it usually begins to rise around January and tops out around June.) While national active inventory is rising (+25% on a year-over-year basis), national active inventory at the end of January 2025 (829,376) was still 25% below pre-pandemic January 2019 levels (1,110,636). And that story varies a lot by market. The Northeast and Midwest remain fairly tight, while the Gulf region has softened. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r
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WeWard, an app that offers real-world rewards for walking, announced Wednesday it’s signed tennis champ Venus Williams as an investor and ambassador for the app. The app, which offers users points called Wards for steps taken, lets users track their movements or import pedometer data from tools like iPhone’s Apple Health, Android’s Google Fit, or Fitbit. When they’ve racked up enough Wards, they can be redeemed for gift cards, charitable donations, or even cash deposits to user bank accounts. “We’ve decided to do something very simple,” says cofounder and CEO Yves Benchimol. “We just give cash to people to walk.” In addition to tangible rewards, users can also collect virtual trading cards scattered at particular places on the map in a manner familiar to players of games like Pokémon Go, encouraging people to explore their surroundings on foot while racking up steps. About 6.5 million of the cards, dubbed WeCards, are collected every day. Users can also compete with friends, or within virtual leagues based on their activity levels, tracking their performance on virtual leaderboards and receiving virtual gold, silver, and bronze medals based on their rankings. The app has also hosted competitions around regions and countries, centered around events like the Olympics or Super Bowl, where players’ steps are added to totals for their locations. “Some people are way motivated by beating their friends and compete with their friends,” Benchimol says. “Others want to beat all the community.” So far, WeWard has distributed $20 million to its users and generated $1 million in charitable donations, according to the company. With the Venus Williams deal, users will be able to access special challenges and rewards linked to the tennis player, including sports tickets and Garmin watches. “A large part of staying well and active is simply by moving your body whichever way you can, and with WeWard, walking becomes a fun and rewarding experience,” Williams said in a statement. “Im excited to be part of a movement that encourages people to take that first step towards a healthier, more active lifestyle. Williams also recorded a video demonstrating her use of the app to track her steps, and WeWard pledged $25,000 to support the global antipoverty charity CARE, which both WeWard and Williams have supported in the past. And through a special “Venus Williams Championship” challenge, users will be able to contribute their steps to a collective total, triggering larger donations up to $40,000 as particular walking milestones are met. The app is free, with those rewards and donations paid for by ads and in-app affiliate shopping links, many of them to health, travel, and activity-oriented vendors like Nike, Columbia, Blue Apron, and Expedia. Users who follow those links can typically earn additional Wards through their purchases. But the company’s not in the business of selling location or activity data, Benchimol emphasizes, with that information collected solely to power step tracking and game experiences like WeCard collecting. WeWard naturally aims to help its users meet their own walking goals, and users typically increase their step counts by about 25% thanks to the app, Benchimol says. He’s hopeful the company can get that number closer to 50% within the next five years. Since the app bases rewards on step counts, users can walk indoors or outdoors, around the block or on a treadmill at a gym, as they see fit. “At the end, what matters is just the number of steps, and the fact that you are active every day,” Benchimol says.
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