More than 50 people have died in two clusters of unknown illnesses in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo, global health authorities said.

Within five weeks, an unknown illness has killed 53 people in northwestern Congo, which has been traced back to three children who ate a bat. The illness first appeared on Jan. 21 in the Democratic Republic of Congo,

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

The latest disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded including 53 deaths.

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

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.

An unknown illness first discovered in three children who ate a bat has rapidly killed more than 50 people in northwestern Congo over the past five weeks, health experts say.