Cholera cases soar in Congo as outbreak hits ‘acute phase’

Kinshasa, July 15 The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing a sharp resurgence of cholera, with cases reported in 17 of its 36 provinces and over 35,000 infections recorded since the beginning of the year, the authorities said on Tuesday.

Minister of Public Health Roger Kamba told a briefing in Kinshasa, the capital, that the country remains in the "acute phase" of the outbreak.

"Being in the acute phase means that we are still seeing the number of cases rising," Kamba said.

The outbreak, which has remained endemic in several eastern provinces since it first appeared in the country over half a century ago, is now spreading rapidly, especially in the capital, Kinshasa, a city of over 17 million people.

"Cholera arrived in our country in 1973, and since then, it has never left. It has remained mostly in the eastern regions," the minister said.

"From time to time, the disease resurfaces as an epidemic. More often, it's endemic - meaning there is a constant presence of cases in some areas, although they are quickly contained," Kamba said. "However, sometimes it leads to large-scale outbreaks."

Tshopo province is currently the most affected, followed by Kinshasa, South Kivu, Maniema, and North Kivu. Sporadic cases have also been reported in the central provinces, raising concern among authorities, Xinhua news agency reported.

The national case fatality rate has reached 3 percent, with a peak of nine per cent previously recorded in Kinshasa.

Despite increased efforts, the health minister acknowledged that "80 per cent of deaths still occur within communities before patients reach hospitals."

Kamba attributed the current surge to a combination of factors, including repeated flooding, lack of access to clean water, poor sanitation, and mass population movements.

"Cholera is a disease of dirty hands. It spreads through contaminated water, improperly prepared food, and overcrowding," he said, urging the population not to self-medicate but to seek immediate treatment at health centers when symptoms such as profuse diarrhea and vomiting appear.

The DRC is not alone in facing this disease, Kamba noted. "This is a regional situation," he said, citing Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, and South Sudan, which are also "in the red."

To prevent cross-border spread, the health ministry has pledged to strengthen epidemiological surveillance at border checkpoints through the National Hygiene Programme at Borders.

In addition to cholera, the DRC is also grappling with an outbreak of mpox, though a clear downward trend has emerged, Kamba said.

"We can say that with mpox, we're on a better path, but it's not over yet. We haven't declared the end of the mpox outbreak, but its trajectory is very positive," the minister said.

According to the World Health Organisation, the DRC Health Ministry declared a cholera outbreak on May 5, 2025, following laboratory confirmation of cases in several provinces.

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