Deaths in Kigonze displaced camp raise fears of hidden Ebola spread in eastern DR Congo

At least 30 people have died since early May in the Kigonze displaced persons camp in Bunia, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, raising concern that Ebola may be spreading unnoticed in a crowded humanitarian setting. Some of the victims had confirmed Ebola diagnoses, according to the supplied report, while local actors said the overall cause of all deaths has not yet been established. The camp is in Ituri province, an area already affected by conflict and by the current Ebola outbreak.

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The report says Kigonze normally records between one and three deaths a month, making the recent rise in fatalities stand out sharply. Ten residents were buried in a single week, and health workers were able to collect samples from five victims. Some of those tests came back positive for Ebola, and humanitarian sources said some of the deaths recorded in recent days were also confirmed cases.

The camp spokesperson, Desire Grodya Bapi, said: "People did not used to die like this." The situation is complicated by reluctance among some residents and relatives to allow testing of patients and bodies, according to humanitarian organisations working in the area. That hesitation can slow tracing and make it harder to determine whether the virus is moving through the camp undetected. The camp shelters more than 15,000 displaced people who fled armed conflict, increasing the risk of close contact in a setting where access to health services is already strained.

The report also says many of the dead had symptoms consistent with Ebola, including fever, headache and vomiting. The concern matters because Bunia is described in the report as an epicentre of the epidemic in the country, and the camp sits within a wider region already facing insecurity and displacement. Ebola outbreaks are especially difficult to contain in places where people are moving, families are crowded together and trust in health teams is limited.

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In such conditions, even a small number of undetected infections can complicate containment efforts and increase pressure on local response teams. The current outbreak was officially declared by Congolese authorities on 15 May, although the first Ebola-related deaths happened before that date. The report also notes that the eastern part of the country is home to more than five million people who have been displaced by conflict, underlining the scale of the humanitarian challenge.

Humanitarian workers and community leaders said the rise in deaths at Kigonze has strengthened fears of silent transmission among displaced families. What remains unclear is how many of the deaths in Kigonze were caused by Ebola and whether the virus has spread beyond the camp. The extent of the outbreak is still uncertain, and the report says not all bodies or patients have been tested.

The key issue now is whether health teams can secure cooperation for testing, identify chains of transmission and determine how far the virus has reached.

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