Ebola Fears Rise as Unconfirmed Deaths Mount in DRC Camp
Quick Look
- Fears of undetected Ebola circulation grow in eastern DRC as Kigonze camp residents refuse testing.
- Over 15,000 displaced people in Bunia, the outbreak's epicenter, have seen 10 deaths this week alone, with symptoms matching Ebola.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
In the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kigonze camp faces fears of undetected virus circulation due to resistance to testing and limited sanitation.
It was not possible to confirm the causes of all the deaths because patients or their relatives in Kigonze camp in Bunia – the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo – had until Thursday refused testing, a camp spokesperson and aid organisation Caritas said.
However, all had symptoms including headaches, fever and vomiting, which are associated with Ebola, a camp spokesperson, a bereaved father, three aid sources and a civil society leader told Reuters.
“People didn’t just die like this before,” camp spokesperson Desire Grodya Bapi said. The deaths in Kigonze, which has more than 15,000 residents, raise fears that Ebola may be circulating undetected among eastern Congo’s over 5 million displaced people, with resistance to testing compounding the challenge posed by severely limited sanitation measures.
Camp president Dz’djo Ndrutsi Etienne said 10 people were buried this week alone. Grodya said the camp typically recorded between one and three deaths per month.
Open Questions
- What are the exact causes of the deaths?
- Will testing resistance continue?
- How will sanitation be improved?
