At least 30 deaths at Congo camp show Ebola could be spreading fast

Deaths could not be confirmed as families in Congo's Kigonze camp refused Ebola testing

At least 30 people have died since the start of May in a camp for displaced civilians in northeastern Congo, a death rate camp officials said was unprecedented and, because of the symptoms involved, could indicate Ebola is spreading rapidly there.

It was not possible to confirm the causes of death because patients or their relatives in Kigonze camp in Bunia—the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo—had until Thursday refused testing of both the living and the dead, 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 told Reuters.

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The deaths in Kigonze, which has more than 15,000 residents, raise fears that Ebola may be circulating undetected among eastern Congo's more than 5 million displaced people, with resistance to testing compounding challenges posed by poor sanitation.

Bodies covered in sheets

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.

Justin Zanamuzi, director of Catholic aid organisation Caritas, which assists camp residents, said his team on Wednesday saw several bodies covered in sheets, including those of a pregnant woman and children.

Footage from Thursday shared by a civil society leader and verified by Reuters showed health teams in hazmat suits disinfecting bodies and preparing small coffins beside a crucifix as mourners wailed.

“Our team tried to persuade people to accept doctors to inspect the bodies. They completely refused,” Zanamuzi said.

The outbreak was first declared by Congolese authorities on May 15, though officials said the deaths had begun earlier in the month.

Grodya said health workers had now collected samples from five victims and were awaiting results. Cholera can also produce Ebola-like symptoms and spreads rapidly in poor communities, although it generally does not transmit from person to person in the same way.

Camp resident Kato Lonu, 47, said he had lost two children, including a six-month-old infant.

“These are conditions that no human being should have to live in. If you look around, people are dying one after another,” he said.

Overflowing toilets among challenges

Four aid workers said the spike in deaths highlighted how communities had become increasingly vulnerable to diseases such as Ebola as donors, including the United States under President Donald Trump, reduced funding for water, hygiene and sanitation programmes.

Such services are essential in combating Ebola, which spreads through bodily fluids, including human waste.

UN data showed funding for toilets and handwashing facilities in Congo fell by more than half between 2024 and 2025, to about $38 million. This year's $80 million funding appeal is only 21% funded.

Congo hosts hundreds of camps for civilians displaced by conflict, some sheltering as many as 100,000 people.

Ebola deaths have already been recorded in another camp in Ituri province, which accounts for more than 90% of the country's nearly 900 confirmed cases.

In Kigonze, large families share plastic tents situated less than a metre apart, while children walk barefoot through dirt alleyways.

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Some toilets in the camp are marked USAID, the US aid agency that was dismantled by the Trump administration. An aid source said USAID had helped fund their construction.

However, Grodya and an aid source said there were too few toilets and many regularly overflowed.

“The latrines fill up very quickly, and people have to empty them themselves, with their bare hands,” Grodya said.

US aid to fight Ebola

The United States has been the largest supporter of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in Congo, providing more than $60 million in 2024 to help reduce the spread of disease, according to a summary shared by a former USAID official.

The Trump administration has defended the cuts, saying it wants to focus on “hyper-prioritised life-saving humanitarian assistance”.

Washington has committed more than $375 million in direct Ebola funding.

There was no immediate comment from the US State Department.

Reuters could not determine exactly how much funding, if any, currently reaches Kigonze.

However, four aid organisations—Mercy Corps, Danish Refugee Council, CARE International and Oxfam—said their US-funded WASH projects for displaced people in the three Ebola-affected provinces had been scaled back or discontinued following last year's funding reductions.

Mercy Corps said it built 82 water taps and more than 400 public toilets serving over 125,000 displaced people in 2024.

This year, funding cuts mean fewer than 19,000 people are served by just six taps and no public toilets, the organisation said.