More than 30 die in a displacement camp in Congo; Ebola cases raise fears of the spread of the outbreak

Ebola outbreak worries the world
At least 30 people have died since the beginning of May in the Kigonze displacement camp, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in an increase considered unusual by local authorities and humanitarian organizations. Some of the victims had a confirmed diagnosis of Ebola, fueling concerns that the virus may be circulating undetected in one of the regions most affected by the current outbreak.
Located in the city of Bunia, the epicenter of the epidemic in the country, the camp is home to more than 15,000 people who fled armed conflicts. According to the local administration, Kigonze used to record between one and three deaths per month. This week alone, ten residents were buried.
The extent of the outbreak, however, remains uncertain. Until this week, residents and families of the victims had been refusing to carry out tests on patients and bodies, according to reports from humanitarian organizations working in the region.
Although it was not possible to confirm the cause of all the deaths, camp representatives, humanitarian workers and community leaders said that many of the victims had symptoms compatible with Ebola, such as fever, headache and vomiting.
People react as Red Cross workers walk in formation disinfecting the Rwampara general hospital before handling the body of a person who died of Ebola, amid efforts by humanitarian agencies to contain a new outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain, in Rwampara, on the outskirts of Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, in May
Reuters
"Before, people didn't die like this," camp spokesman Desire Grodya Bapi told Reuters.
According to him, health professionals managed to collect samples from five victims. Part of the tests returned positive for Ebola. Sources linked to the humanitarian response also confirmed that some of the deaths recorded in recent days had a confirmed diagnosis of the disease.
The current outbreak was officially declared by Congolese authorities on May 15, although the first deaths related to the virus occurred before that date.
Fears of undetected transmission
The increase in deaths in Kigonze reinforced concerns about the possibility of unidentified transmission of the virus among displaced populations. Eastern Congo is home to more than 5 million people who have left their homes because of armed violence.
The difficulty of carrying out tests and tracing contacts could allow chains of transmission to go unnoticed, according to humanitarian workers monitoring the situation.
Images recorded at the scene show teams using protective clothing to disinfect bodies before burials. Among the victims were children and a pregnant woman.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus meets with health authorities at the Evangelical Medical Center, one of the facilities on the front line of the response to the Ebola outbreak in the province of Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters
Poor sanitation increases the risk
Humanitarian organizations point out that the sanitary conditions of the camp could favor the spread of infectious diseases.
In Kigonze, large families live in makeshift tents separated by less than one meter. Toilets are insufficient to serve the population and often overflow, according to residents and workers who work in the area.
The problem is a concern because Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people, such as blood, vomit and feces.
Data compiled by the United Nations show that funding for water, sanitation and hygiene projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo fell significantly between 2024 and 2025. The resources available for these actions were reduced to around US$38 million, just over half the amount recorded in the previous year.
In addition, only 21% of the US$80 million requested for this year by humanitarian agencies was actually financed.
According to four organizations operating in the region, programs aimed at supplying water, building toilets and other sanitation measures for displaced populations were reduced or interrupted after cuts in international funding.
The province of Ituri, where Bunia is located, accounts for more than 90% of the approximately 900 confirmed cases of the current Ebola outbreak in the country. Deaths associated with the disease have also been recorded in other displacement camps in the region.
Health authorities are trying to expand testing and contact tracing to contain the transmission of the virus, but face challenges ranging from resistance on the part of the population to structural limitations in areas marked by mass displacement and years of instability.

Source: G1