ISLAMABAD (MNN): Concerns are mounting over the rapid spread of Ebola in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after at least 30 people died since early May at the overcrowded Kigonze displacement camp in Bunia, Ituri province, the center of the current outbreak.
Home to more than 15,000 displaced people, the camp is struggling with severe overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, limited healthcare services and water shortages. Health officials have described the mortality rate as alarming and unprecedented. Many victims reportedly exhibited Ebola symptoms, including fever, headaches, vomiting and bleeding, but resistance to testing initially delayed confirmation of cases.
The outbreak, declared in May 2026, is the DRC’s 17th Ebola epidemic and is linked to the Bundibugyo virus strain, for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment currently exists. Health authorities are relying primarily on supportive medical care.
As of late June, authorities have recorded nearly 900 to 950 confirmed infections and more than 230 deaths. The virus has spread across Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, while limited cases detected in neighboring Uganda have reportedly been contained.
Response efforts by health authorities and international partners continue to face major challenges, including insecurity, attacks on healthcare workers, misinformation, public mistrust, unsafe burial practices and patients fleeing treatment centers.
With more than five million internally displaced people living in conflict-affected eastern Congo, experts warn that crowded camps remain highly vulnerable to wider transmission, raising fears of a worsening humanitarian and public health crisis.
