Democratic Republic of Congo health officials said on Thursday that a fast-moving cholera outbreak has infected 1,601 people in 17 of the country’s 26 provinces, with Tshopo accounting for nearly half the total.
Public Health Minister Roger Kamba told reporters the country is facing “a critical health crisis” compounded by mass displacement and concurrent mpox transmission. Cholera has now reached 137 health zones, and 11 of them are preparing emergency vaccination drives aimed at halting further spread.
“We are in the acute phase of the epidemic,” Kamba said. “In Kinshasa alone we are registering about 130 new cases every week.”
Cholera is contracted by ingesting water or food contaminated with the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. While most patients are being treated in their communities, Kamba urged the public to seek medical care quickly for symptoms such as severe diarrhoea and vomiting and to avoid self-medicating.
Since authorities declared the outbreak in May, the health ministry has logged roughly 33,000 suspected infections nationwide, with a case-fatality rate near 2 percent—higher than the one-percent threshold the World Health Organization considers controllable with prompt treatment.
Resource shortages are hampering the response, Kamba said, adding that medicine, rehydration salts and laboratory supplies remain scarce. To bolster capacity, the government has activated an incident-management system with support from the WHO and other partners, deploying rapid-response teams to track cases, investigate clusters and improve clinical care.
Officials warn that without better access to clean water, sanitation and medical supplies, the outbreak is likely to intensify in the coming weeks.