CONTACT US

Contact Form

    Santa Ana News

    Kings rally past Vegas with 4-goal 3rd period
    • February 25, 2025

    LOS ANGELES — The Kings entered the third period trailing on Monday night, but they exploded for four unanswered goals to topple the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights, 5-2, continuing their dominance at Crypto.com Arena.

    Trevor Moore scored two goals before Warren Foegele (who also had an assist), Kevin Fiala and Joel Edmundson tacked on three more that made the difference as the Kings improved to 14-1-1 in their past 16 homes games. Quinton Byfield’s four assists gave him a single-game career high in points and Foegele added an assist as well. Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves to win his fourth consecutive decision, adding to his team’s NHL-best home points percentage (.833, 19-3-2).

    Former King Brayden McNabb and captain Mark Stone each deposited a goal for Vegas, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Ilya Samsonov halted just 14 of 19 shots. In two visits to Los Angeles this season, Samsonov stopped 35 of 46 pucks for an acrid .761 save percentage.

    The Kings have now taken two of three meetings with Vegas this season, having lost 6-1 on Oct. 22 and won 6-3 on Oct. 30. Not surprisingly, the host team has won each game between two of the NHL’s best teams on home ice.

    With the victory, the Kings not only won a four-point game against Pacific-topping Vegas, which now held a five-point lead over the Kings, but inched within three points of second-place Edmonton, which was idle.

    “(Vegas) took us to the schoolyard a little bit [in the second period], they were faster, stronger and more competitive,” Coach Jim Hiller said. “So, we had to decide, were we just going to let them take it from us? And, clearly, the guys had a great response in the third.”

    Edmundson’s slap shot with 4:32 remaining (his fifth goal this season) and Fiala’s backhand with 2:19 to play (his 23rd of the campaign) provided reassurance. Fiala now has seven goals and nine points in his last six outings.

    “Coach came in and he said, ‘that’s a top-three team over there, a potential playoff opponent, too,’ so we just had to step up, and everybody did that,” said Byfield, adding of Fiala that “he’s hot, he’s scoring, we’re just trying to get him the puck.”

    A backhanded connection between Byfield and Foegele nine seconds after a power play expired gave the Kings the lead for good, 8:31 into the third period. Byfield protected the puck and dragged two defenders with him before whipping a backhand pass against the grain for Foegele. He was met at the near post by a lunging Samsonov, only to head to the far post and slip the puck home off his backhand.

    “The backhand pass to (Foegele) was about as good as you could make it,” Hiller said.

    The Kings made it a new game a mere 42 seconds into the closing frame. Kuemper’s long clearing attempt eluded a pinching Alex Pietrangelo along the wall. The puck leaked into the neutral zone, where it was settled by Foegele for Moore, who darted ahead to deliver a short-side snipe. That marked the second goal of the game and 10th of the season for the Thousand Oaks native, who had 31 last year.

    “I think he had 10 to 12 [goals] coming down the wing [last year], we just haven’t seen that from him this year, and it was just great to see,” Hiller said. “It was his second [goal of the game], and hopefully that spurs him on.”

    In the second period, Vegas struck twice consecutively to hold a 2-1 lead at the intermission via goals at the 10:26 and 16:41 marks. In between tallies, Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin also saved a score by swiping the puck off the goal line.

    The visitors earned their first edge of the evening when Hanifin’s high shot was tipped underneath and through Kuemper by Stone.

    The Golden Knights knotted the score when Tomáš Hertl walked off the left-wing wall and into the slot, drawing a crowd that included Byfield. He had neglected the trailing McNabb, to whom Hertl silkily slipped a pass into the high slot. McNabb’s perfectly placed shot beat Kuemper for the equalizer.

    That goal gave Vegas momentum, but the Kings would quell it in the final 20 minutes, playing sharp, opportunistic hockey while the Golden Knights’ collective posture slouched.

    “We shot ourselves in the foot. Soft plays, not getting pucks out, all of the above. We gave them those goals. It’s on us, it’s a bad loss by us and a bad period,” McNabb said.

    The early going was all Kings as they outshot Vegas 8-2 initially, in part because they had earned the game’s first two power plays, the second of which produced the game’s first goal, 10:30 into the contest.

    Byfield, who later took two penalties that the Kings killed, hammered a shot from the left circle that Moore deflected past Samsonov after grinding for position.

    That goal was the difference in a period where Vegas made a late push that Kuemper beat back, channeling his inner Jonathan Quick on both sides of the Kings’ second short-handed stretch, tracking the puck expertly and dominating with his pad work.

    “I could say [we were soft on our sticks] for stretches of the game, there’s no question, and Darcy was there when we were,” Hiller said.

    The Kings will seek their 20th home win of the season when they close out their homestand against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

     Orange County Register 

    Read More
    Depleted Clippers fall to surging Pistons for 3rd straight loss
    • February 25, 2025

    DETROIT — The Clippers are still trying to find their post-All-Star break groove, but a lack of firepower was their biggest issue on Monday night.

    Playing without Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell and Ben Simmons, the Clippers could not keep up with the surging Detroit Pistons down the stretch and lost their third straight game, 106-97.

    Cade Cunningham had 32 points and nine rebounds, former Clipper Tobias Harris had 20 points and Jalen Duren added 12 points and 19 rebounds as the Pistons won their seventh straight game. Ausar Thompson added 10 points and five steals.

    James Harden had 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists (but seven turnovers) for the Clippers (31-26), who conclude their four-game Midwestern trip on Wednesday night in Chicago. Ivica Zubac had 13 points, 16 boards, five assists and three blocked shots, while Derrick Jones Jr. added 15 points and Kris Dunn had 13 points, five rebounds and five steals.

    Bogdan Bogdanovic had 13 points and five assists but endured a frustrating night. He missed seven of his first 10 shots, including all five 3-point attempts, and left the game midway through the third quarter with five fouls. He didn’t have any more success after returning in the fourth quarter, finishing 3 for 9 from the floor and 1 for 7 from 3-point range.

    The Pistons (32-26), who beat the Clippers for the first time in 11 meetings, hadn’t won seven straight since January 2015 and have their best 58-game record since they were 42-16 in 2007-08 – the last year they won a playoff game.

    Leading by one point, the Pistons closed the third quarter with a 10-1 run. Thompson got it started with a dunk, Harris added a dunk and a 3-pointer, then Dennis Schroder finished the period with a floater for an 85-75 lead.

    A Cunningham basket with 9:13 left in the fourth made it 87-76, but the Clippers scored the next seven points, including a three-point play from Amir Coffey. The Pistons answered with field goals from Thompson and Cunningham.

    A Malik Beasley corner 3-pointer gave Detroit a 96-84 lead with 2:53 lead, and Cunningham put secured the victory with a 3-pointer with 1:06 left.

    The absences of Leonard (left foot soreness), Powell (left patellar tendinopathy) and Simmons (left knee injury management) meant the Clippers were without a pair of starters and a key reserve. Simmons had averaged 8.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 23.7 minutes per game.

    Pistons reserve forward Simone Fontecchio missed the game after sustaining a hand injury in Sunday’s 148-145 victory over Atlanta.

    UP NEXT

    The Clippers will play their third game in four days when they face the Bulls on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT in Chicago.

    ​ Orange County Register 

    Read More
    Orange County scores and player stats for Monday, Feb. 24
    • February 25, 2025

    Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now


    Scores and stats from Orange County games on Monday, Feb. 24

    Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

    The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.

    MONDAY’S SCORES

    BASEBALL

    NEWPORT ELKS TOURNAMENT

    Capistrano Valley 10, Costa Mesa 1

    CV: Fuller 2-2, 2B, SB, 3RBI. Spencer 2-4, 2RBI. Rucker 2-2, 2 2B, 2R, SB.

    CM: Navarro 1-2, 3B, R. Clark 1-3, 2B.

    Portola 6, Diamond Bar 4

    Por: Liang (W, 3IP 1H 0R 2K). Marinelli 2-4, 2 2B, 3RBI. Park 2-3, 2B, SB, 2R. Tsuge 1-3, RBI.

    Whittier Christian 6, Orange 4

    WC: Echavarria (5IP 3H 0R 11K) 1-4, 2RBI. Park 2-3, 3B, RBI. Little 1-3, RBI.

    Or: Vergara (6IP 5H 1ER 2K) 1-3, 2B, R. Norwalk 2-4, RBI. Nock 1-4, RBI.

    Katella 20, Santa Ana 3

    Kat: Garcia (W, 5IP 2H 0ER 7K). Munoz 2-2, HR, 3RBI. Perez 2-3, 2B, 2RBI. Barba 2-4, 2SB, 2RBI.

    Trabuco Hills 8, Crean Lutheran 0

    TH: DeFrancesca (W, 6IP 8H 0R 9K). Van De Kreeke 3-4, 2 2B, 2RBI. Hall 1-4, 2RBI.

    Laguna Beach 10, Esperanza 1

    LB: Wade (W, 5IP 2H 0R 8K). Reed 2-3, 2B, 4RBI. Sybirski 2-3, 2B, 2RBI. Boultinghouse 3-4, 2B, RBI.

    Esp: DeArte 2-3, RBI. Garcia 0-3, RBI.

    Northwood 4, Cerritos 0

    NW: Stevenson (W, 6IP 3H 0R 5K). Tsou 1-3, SB, 2RBI. Chubb 2-3, SB. Grossman 0-2, SB, RBI.

    Calvary Chapel 4, Valley Christian 2

    CC: Steele (W, 2IP 1H 0R 5K). Cox 1-2, SB, RBI. Jones 1-3, 2B, RBI.

    KEN’S SPORTING GOODS CLASSIC

    Centennial 16, Beckman 3

    Beck: Gomez 2-3. Patel 1-2, RBI.

    NONLEAGUE

    Oxford Academy 8, Los Altos 3

    OA: Villagomez 2-3, 2B, SB, 2RBI. Lee 1-3, 2B, 2RBI. Suzuki 2-4, 2B, SB, RBI.

    Other nonleague scores

    Western 16, Whitney 4

    SOFTBALL

    NONLEAGUE

    Sunny Hills 13, Valencia 5

    SH: (W, Perez  7IP), 2-3, 2RBI. Holguin 3-4, 3RBI

    Val: Kim 2-3

    Other nonleague scores

    Cypress 7, Kennedy 1

    Santa Fe 3, Whittier Christian 1

    Portola 22, Magnolia 2

    Anaheim 13, Calvary Chapel 6

    Aliso Niguel 7, Woodbridge 3

    Newport Harbor 13, Laguna Hills 0

    BOYS TENNIS

    NONLEAGUE

    Beckman 12, Portola 6

    JSerra 15, Tesoro 3

    BOYS GOLF

    NONLEAGUE

    Beckman 196, Woodbridge 207

    Tustin Ranch (par 36)

    Beck: Chen 36, Kwong 39

    Wb: Allgood 39, Li 40

    Other nonleague scores

    Canyon 344, Brea Olinda 345

    Sage Hill 206, St. Margaret’s 225

    GIRLS LACROSSE

    NONLEAGUE

    Irvine 9, Portola 5

    GIRLS BEACH VOLLEYBALL

    CRESTVIEW LEAGUE

    Yorba Linda 4, Esperanza 1

    NONLEAGUE

    Costa Mesa 4, Westminster 1

    BOYS VOLLEYBALL

    NONLEAGUE

    El Modena def. Katella, 25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18

    Oxford Academy def. CAMS, 25-11, 25-21, 25-15

    Garden Grove def. Cerritos, 3-2

     

     

     

    ​ Orange County Register 

    Read More
    Black Image Center looks to help residents preserve photos damaged in Eaton, Palisades fires
    • February 25, 2025

    Every time Nairobi Hilaire Seabrooks visited her grandmother’s home in Pacific Palisades, she would point to photos framed on the walls and around the home and ask her family for the stories behind each memory.

    Last month, Hilaire Seabrooks’ grandmother and her husband learned of the devastating Palisades fire as they were shopping at a Costco. Their neighborhood had been evacuated, and they couldn’t return to grab anything.

    While her grandmother’s home stayed standing in the treacherous days to come, it was heavily damaged by smoke and ash. Hilaire Seabrooks doesn’t yet know the state of her grandmother’s photo collection, but to help her family preserve their memories, she attended a free event Sunday at the Black Image Center, at 3209 La Cienega Ave. in Culver City, focused on helping people clean photos and other memories damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires.

    “I wanted to learn as much information as I could so that I could come with the tools that I needed,” Hilaire Seabrooks said.

    The quarterly Black Family Archive event is often focused on digitizing and learning to safely store generations of photos and memories, so that Black community members can play an active role in preserving their history and making sure future generations can learn about the relatives who came before them.

    The Black Image Center archiving event Sunday focused for the first time on helping community members learn how they can clean and preserve photos and other sentimental items damaged in the Eaton and Palisades fires that devastated Altadena, Pasadena, the Pacific Palisades and surrounding communities.

    Ronel Namde laid out handfuls of gloves, N-95 masks and cosmetic and smoke cleaning sponges for anyone looking to clean their photographs, books and other heirlooms or mementos that may have been damaged in the fires.

    Usually Namde, a conservationist who’s been volunteering for the Black Image Center for around a year and a half, connects with visitors and helps them find quality but cost-effective ways to care for and preserve collections of family photos and other memories as part of the center’s quarterly Black Family Archive event.

    As residents affected by the fires return and start to dig through their homes, Namde said they should wear personal protective equipment, including face masks, gloves, eye protection and long-sleeved clothing, to shield themselves from toxic ash and soot.

    Carefully wiping a cosmetic sponge across photos or books can help remove some soot or ash, and a soot sponge, which can be found at hardware stores, could be used for items that have been heavily damaged.

    After cleaning, photos and other items still may smell like smoke. In that case, Namde recommends putting photos in a container along with a charcoal bag to remove the scent.

    Madelyn Inez, a resident archivist at the Black Image Center, helps to scan and digitize family photos, so that loved ones can preserve their family histories, share them with more family members and print more copies. She hopes the center can provide a space for residents to clean photos damaged in the wildfires and digitize any photos, damaged or not, so that locals can preserve their legacy.

    Inez said she also takes one-on-one appointments with anyone interested, where she can spend an hour or more digitizing and preserving as many photos as possible to help people have another copy of their family’s history.

    Hilaire Seabrooks stopped by the event to pick up supplies and learn more about cleaning damaged memories after a major fire. Her grandmother is still living at a hotel in Hawthorne, but Hilaire Seabrooks hopes that, once she’s ready and able to return to her home, they’ll be able to clean the family photos that she cherishes.

    One of her friends, she said, has no photos of himself growing up after they were lost in a previous house fire. Hilaire Seabrooks hopes that she can preserve her family’s photos and memories, so that their history can live on for future generations.

    “It’s so important, especially when it comes to the Black community,” Hilaire Seabrooks said. “Stuff has been burnt down countless times over the course of history.”

    For more information about Black Image Center events visit blackimagecenter.org

     Orange County Register 

    Read More
    Ducks acquire goalie Ville Husso from Red Wings
    • February 25, 2025

    The Ducks acquired goaltender Ville Husso from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for future considerations, both clubs announced on Monday.

    Husso, 30, will report to San Diego (American Hockey League), where a position of relative strength has been weakened considerably by severe lower-body injuries to netminders Tomas Suchanek and Calle Clang. Husso, even more so than depth veteran Oskar Dansk, could be considered something of an AHL-NHL tweener. He’s made 141 appearances at the top level. That included nine this season with Detroit, when he also played 13 games in the AHL with Grand Rapids.

    That means Husso will address an immediate need in San Diego, and that he could also fill a future one as an NHL backup if a potential trade of the longest-tenured Duck, goalie John Gibson, comes to fruition. Gibson sustained an injury in Boston on Saturday that is not expected to linger.

    In the 2021-22 season, Husso ousted Stanley Cup winner and recent 4 Nations Face-Off star Jordan Binnington from the St. Louis net, leading the Blues with 38 starts and 40 games played. He was traded to Detroit that offseason and signed to a three-year deal with an annual average value of $4.75 million, which is set to expire on July 1.

    His time in red and white, however, underwhelmed, as his save percentage plummeted below .900 and his goals-against average ballooned to well above 3.00 in each of his three campaigns in the Motor City. This season, he fell behind Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot, making him a pricey yet superfluous asset for the Red Wings.

    Now, Detroit, which has gone from one of the league’s most disappointing teams to its one of its hottest after hiring a name-brand coach in Todd McLellan, cleared some salary cap space ahead of the trade deadline, while the Ducks plugged a transitory hole in their goalie pipeline.

    This was a deal consummated between friends as Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek and Detroit’s Steve Yzerman worked together in both Detroit and Tampa Bay. This is the second trade between the former colleagues this season, after the Ducks acquired Robby Fabbri and a fourth-round draft pick in exchange for prospect goalie Gage Alexander during the summer.

    ​ Orange County Register 

    Read More
    LAFC looking to fend off Rapids in CONCACAF Champions Cup play
    • February 25, 2025

    Chris Armas and the Colorado Rapids waited a tad longer than they hoped, but a chance at quick redemption comes Tuesday.

    After losing to the Los Angeles Football Club, 4-0, last summer in the 2024 Leagues Cup semifinals at BMO Stadium, Armas wanted to run it back as soon as possible.

    “I want to play them,” the Rapids head coach said that night. “Give us another crack at them in the playoffs. Let’s learn from it and get better.”

    The Rapids earned a spot in the MLS postseason but were swept by the eventual champion Galaxy in the first round, so a rematch with LAFC didn’t materialize. But because Colorado (ranked 46th out of the 47 teams in the Leagues Cup field) followed its Leagues Cup semifinal loss with a win in Philadelphia, it finished in third place and earned a coveted spot in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

    As it happened, a few months later the tournament draw delivered what the Rapids wished for.

    Last Tuesday, LAFC visited Denver for Leg 1 of the competition’s first-round series. Frigid conditions and an icy field was a polar bear plunge into the season for LAFC, which lost 2-1 to a determined, maturing Rapids group that played feeling like they “got this,” Armas said. “We went out there to win the game, to attack LAFC.”

    The circumstances might have been a shock to LAFC’s system, but sensations on the other side of emerging from frozen waters can have their benefits. The Black & Gold appeared invigorated for their MLS opener against Minnesota on Saturday, limiting chances, dominating possession and ultimately engineering a decisive team goal that Jeremy Ebobisse drilled into the upper corner to complete a 1-0 win.

    Thanks to Aaron Long’s header late in the game in Denver last Tuesday, which halved the deficit on a crucial tie-breaking away goal, a shutout victory would carry Cherundolo’s team through to face Columbus in the Round of 16. It would also leave open the possibility of clashing with Lionel Messi’s Miami in the quarterfinals and keeping alive the club’s chances of a third trip to the continental tournament final in three tries.

    Five years ago in the first round, LAFC under head coach Bob Bradley turned around a 2-0 deficit against Liga MX’s Club León to advance.

    “This team always has the ability to learn from past experiences against certain opponents, especially in quick turnaround,” Cherundolo said. “And we’ve been able to correct those very quickly and capitalize. So I expect more of the same.”

    LAFC is 7-0-0 all-time at home against Colorado, outscoring the Rapids 21-2. As rare as visiting goals have been, one would complicate matters in Leg 2. The Rapids did not get on the board in their MLS opener at St. Louis on the weekend. Should they do so at BMO Stadium, it would take a 2-1 victory for LAFC to reach extra time or penalties.

    Since a 3-2 (4-4 aggregate) scoreline tips the away-goal edge to Colorado, LAFC must win by two in regulation if, say, Djordje Mihailovic, scores two goals, as he did in the first contest.

    “We won’t be thinking [about] what happened last year,” Armas said. “We’re a bold team. We’re young. We’re fearless. We love it. So we’re not going there to play it safe either. We’re gonna go there and attack and try to get that next goal.

    “As far as LAFC in that building, 2025, we love to get a crack at it.”

    COLORADO RAPIDS AT LAFC

    What: CONCACAF Champions Cup, first round (2nd leg)

    When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

    Where: BMO Stadium

    TV: FS2

    ​ Orange County Register 

    Read More
    Luka Doncic’s Lakers teammates, coach say he’s ready to face Mavericks
    • February 25, 2025

    EL SEGUNDO — In Saturday night’s road win against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers got their first glimpse of Luka Doncic having a “blackout episode,” as Coach JJ Redick put it, when the 25-year-old Slovenian’s “killer mentality” and “joyful” sides were simultaneously on display.

    The Lakers’ next opponent on Tuesday night – the Dallas Mavericks – are very familiar with those sides of Doncic.

    Doncic, who turns 26 on Friday, spent the first 6½ seasons of his NBA career with the Mavericks after being the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, being named an All-Star and an All-NBA first-team honoree for five consecutive seasons (2020-24) before he was shockingly traded to the Lakers on Feb. 1.

    “I think he’ll be fine,” Redick said of Doncic, who didn’t speak to reporters after the team’s practice on Monday.

    “Every day that he’s been with us it’s becoming a little more normal. I’ve been there. The first time you play your old team, particularly this close in time duration, it’s going to be weird. But he’ll be OK.”

    Tuesday will be the first time that Doncic will play against his former team since the Mavericks sent him to Los Angeles as part of a three-team deal that sent All-Star big man Anthony Davis and guard Max Christie from the Lakers to Dallas, and Jalen Hood-Schifino and a second-round draft pick from the Lakers to the Utah Jazz.

    Along with Doncic, the Lakers acquired veteran forwards Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, providing Doncic with a few familiar faces during his transition with the Lakers.

    Redick played with Doncic in Dallas at the end of the 2020-21 season before retiring. Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith and Doncic were teammates in Dallas from 2018-23 before Finney-Smith was traded to the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.

    “Just having familiar faces around is great for him,” Redick said. “You never know though, because you’re talking about a guy who left home as a teenager to go to Madrid in a different country and learn how to speak Spanish on his own. He’s a different dude. But I think for him, given the magnitude of the change of scenery, I think having us around to help support him, I think has been great.”

    Finney-Smith, who’s often seen shooting with Doncic after practices, said he was “excited” to see how Doncic will respond to playing against his former team, acknowledging the human element that came with the shock of being traded to the Lakers.

    “I think he’s going to be excited, but everybody in the locker room is excited,” Finney-Smith said. “We got his back. It’s gonna be a hard-fought game. I know [Mavericks coach Jason Kidd] is gonna have them ready to come here and compete. So we just gotta match that intensity.”

    Finney-Smith added of Doncic: “I know he’s gonna be ready. But I try not to put too much pressure on him because at the end of the day, we just want to get the win. We get the win, I know he’s gonna be happy.”

    There’s been plenty to be happy about for the Lakers lately.

    With a 14-4 record over their last 18 games, the Lakers have the league’s best winning percentage since Jan. 15.

    They have the league’s best defensive rating (107.8), third-best net rating (plus-9.8) and eighth-best offensive rating (117.6) during that stretch.

    And they’ve upped their play against the league’s best teams.

    The Lakers have won seven consecutive games against teams with records above .500. Their 15-12 record against above-.500 teams is the third-best mark in the Western Conference.

    “More times than not, we’ve done really well,” Redick responded when asked about that showing. “There’s certainly a feel to it, of when to press and when not to press. I can’t wait for [Tuesday]. And I’ll be excited for Wednesday. Like that’s just, for me personally, that’s just how I know I’m doing the right thing right now.

    “My own sustainability, I’m not worried about that. I think as a coach, you just have to gauge the energy of the group and the vibe of the group and know when to press and when not to press. But, we’re preparing. Our guys recognize we’re in a dogfight for playoff seeding right now.  We’re preparing for the playoffs and everything we do over the next 27 games.”

    MAVERICKS AT LAKERS

    When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

    Where: Crypto.com Arena

    TV/radio: TNT, Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM

    ​ Orange County Register 

    Read More
    An unknown illness kills over 50 people in part of Congo with hours between symptoms and death
    • February 25, 2025

    By JEAN-YVES KAMALE

    KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in northwestern Congo, according to doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization on Monday.

    The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, told The Associated Press.

    The outbreak began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded including 53 deaths.

    According to the WHO’s Africa office, the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms.

    There have long been concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where wild animals are popularly eaten. The number of such outbreaks in Africa has surged by more than 60% in the last decade, the WHO said in 2022.

    After the second outbreak of the current mystery disease began in the town of Bomate on Feb. 9, samples from 13 cases have been sent to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, for testing, the WHO said.

    All samples have been negative for Ebola or other common hemorrhagic fever diseases like Marburg. Some tested positive for malaria.

    Last year, another mystery flu-like illness that killed dozens of people in another part of Congo was determined to be likely malaria.

    ​ Orange County Register 

    Read More