Spike in deaths at Congo displacement camp raises Ebola concerns
At least 30 people have died since early May in the Kigonze displacement camp in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting fears of an undetected Ebola spread amid resistance to testing and limited sanitation.
More than 30 deaths have been recorded since the start of May in Kigonze camp, which houses over 15,000 displaced residents near the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Camp officials said the mortality rate is unprecedented and that the deceased exhibited symptoms such as headache, fever and vomiting, which are consistent with Ebola.
Camp spokesperson Desire Grodya Bapi told Reuters that the camp normally sees one to three deaths per month, but ten burials occurred in a single week. Caritas director Justin Zanamuzi said his team observed several bodies, including a pregnant woman and children, and that health workers had taken samples from five victims awaiting laboratory results.
The surge in fatalities has heightened concerns that Ebola could be circulating undetected among the region’s five million displaced people, especially as residents have refused testing of both living and deceased individuals. Limited sanitation infrastructure compounds the risk; the camp’s latrines frequently overflow and are sometimes emptied manually.
The national Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15, although deaths began earlier in the month. Health authorities continue to investigate the cause of the recent deaths while urging cooperation with medical teams.
Aid groups noted that funding cuts have reduced water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in the affected provinces, limiting the number of functional taps and public toilets available to displaced populations.
