The CDC is closely monitoring an "unknown disease” that has killed dozens in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the agency said in a statement on Monday.

World Health Organization officials said the outbreak appeared to originate from a village where three children died after reportedly eating a bat carcass.

The outbreak has been traced, tentatively, to three children who ate a bat, the W.H.O. said, and known threats like Ebola and Marburg have been ruled out.

Is a new virus causing a disease outbreak and deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or is the cause already known to science?

Over 50 deaths have been linked to an "unknown disease" in the Democratic Republic of Congo since January. Nearly half occurred within 48 hours of the symptoms' start.

Reports of a large number of unexplained illnesses and deaths in Equateur province have garnered international attention, likely in part because this region of DRC has had several Ebola outbreaks in recent years.