A United Nations refugee agency has said that the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has spread into a crowded displacement camp for the first time.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a June 9 report that two Ebola-related deaths have been reported at Kpangba camp in Ituri province, a site that hosts about 30,000 internally displaced people.
“Transmission risk remains high across eastern [Congo] due to weakened infrastructure and a highly volatile protection environment,” the UNHCR said.
The warning comes as health officials report a sharp increase in infections linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a disease that causes severe hemorrhagic fever and can be fatal.
Congo’s Ministry of Communication and Media said on June 11 it had recorded 635 cumulative confirmed cases and 127 deaths as of June 9.
Officials said 260 patients were either isolated or hospitalized and that 26 health zones in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu had been affected. The provinces are home to more than 5 million displaced people.
The ministry also reported that contact tracing had reached only 61.1 percent of identified contacts, well below the operational target of 95 percent.
The outbreak was officially declared by Congo’s Ministry of Health on May 15.
The Bundibugyo virus is likely transmitted through direct contact with an infected person’s body fluids, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The symptoms typically develop between two and 21 days after exposure.
“Treatment consists of supportive care; no medications or vaccines against BVD have been approved,” the CDC said on June 11.
Conflict Complicates Response
The provinces at the center of the outbreak have endured decades of armed conflict and humanitarian crises.
The UNHCR said that more than 2 million forcibly displaced people, including over 320,000 refugees, live in areas considered at risk. The agency added that more than a year of intensified fighting in eastern Congo has damaged health infrastructure, restricted humanitarian access, and disrupted services for civilians.
Those conditions have made it harder to monitor infections and provide medical care.
Human Rights Watch warned that years of conflict and mistrust could undermine efforts to contain the outbreak.
“The Congolese government and international partners should prioritize community engagement and limit the role of security forces in responding to the Ebola outbreak,” the organization said in a June 11 statement on X.
The group said authorities needed to overcome “years of conflict, abuse, and neglect” that have weakened healthcare systems and eroded public trust.
Regional Risk
The UNHCR warned that neighboring countries also face elevated risks because of ongoing refugee movements. The agency said reception and transit centers in Uganda, which hosts more than 2 million refugees, are operating at about 190 percent of capacity.
Burundi, Rwanda, and South Sudan were identified as facing heightened transmission risk due to cross-border population movements.
World Health Organization officials have warned that the outbreak may be larger than official figures suggest.
“Every day, cases are being identified in new health zones. And that reflects really the scale of this outbreak, a scale that is much bigger than what is being detected and the high mobility of the population in this part of the DRC,” Dr. Olivier le Polain, WHO unit head for epidemiology and analytics for response, said in comments published by U.N. News on June 10.
US Expands Ebola Response
The U.S. State Department announced June 10 that it would provide an additional $20 million to support Ebola preparedness efforts in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
The funding will support emergency operations centers, disease surveillance, testing, border screening, infection prevention measures, and the distribution of medical supplies.
The State Department said its direct funding for Ebola response and preparedness efforts now exceeds $220 million.
“The United States continues to be the largest financial contributor to the Ebola response,” the department said.
The CDC said it has expanded preparedness efforts in the United States, including support for diagnostic testing at more than 40 laboratories and guidance for healthcare providers.