Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and experts from World Health Organization (WHO) are carrying out further investigations to determine the cause of another cluster of illness and community deaths in Equateur province. In recent months, disease surveillance has identified increases in illness and deaths three times in different areas of the country, and triggered follow-up investigations to confirm the cause and provide needed support.
Since the beginning of 2025, a series of illnesses and community deaths have affected Equateur province. The most recent cluster occurred in the Basankusu health zone, where last week 141 additional people fell ill, with no deaths reported. In the same health zone, 158 cases and 58 deaths were reported in the same health zone earlier in February. In January, Bolamba health zone reported 12 people who fell ill including 8 deaths.
Increased disease surveillance has identified in total of 1096 sick people and 60 deaths in Basankusu and Bolomba fitting a broad case definition that includes fever, headache, chills, sweating, stiff neck, muscle aches, multiple joint pain and body aches, a runny or bleeding from nose, cough, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Concurrent outbreaks
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing many concurrent crises and outbreaks, putting a further strain on the health sector and the population.
In response to the latest cluster of illness, a national rapid response team from Kinshasa and Equateur including WHO health emergency experts was deployed to Basankusu and Bolomba health zones to investigate the situation and determine if there is an unusual pattern. The experts are stepping up disease surveillance, conducting interviews with community members to understand the background, and providing treatment for diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis.
WHO has delivered emergency medical supplies, including testing kits, and developed detailed protocols to enhance disease investigation.
Initial laboratory analysis has turned out negative for Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease. Around half of the samples tested positive for malaria, which is common in the region. Further tests are to be carried out for meningitis. Food, water and environmental samples will also be analysed, to determine if there might be contamination. The various samples will be sent for further testing at the national reference laboratory in Kinshasa. Earlier samples turned out not to be viable and re-testing was undertaken.
Remote cases
Basankusu and Bolomba are about 180 kilometres apart and more than 300 kilometres from the provincial capital Mbandaka. The two localities are reachable by road or via the Congo River from Mbandaka. This remoteness limits access to health care, including testing and treatment. Poor road and telecommunication infrastructure are also major challenges.
WHO is supporting the local health authorities reinforce investigation and response measures, with more than 80 community health workers trained to detect and report cases and deaths.
Further efforts are needed to reinforce testing, early case detection and reporting, for the current event but also for future incidents. WHO remains on the ground supporting health workers, collaborating closely with zonal, provincial and national health authorities to provide lifesaving medical supplies and to coordinate response to curb the spread of the illness and other outbreaks in the region.
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