Cholera surge in DRC compounds health strain as Ebola outbreak persists

The World Health Organization reports that from January 2025 through September 2026 the Democratic Republic of Congo logged more than 125,000 suspected cholera cases and 3,644 suspected deaths. Since the start of 2026 alone, the tally stands at more than 51,412 suspected cholera cases and 1,487 fatalities. In the most recent surveillance week (21‑28 September), 2,932 suspected cholera infections and 86 deaths were recorded. At the same time, the country is coping with an Ebola outbreak that has produced 9,066 cases, 4,381 deaths and a case‑fatality rate of 48.3 percent, with 2,389 recoveries reported.

Nearly 60 percent of cholera cases are concentrated in the eastern provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu and Haut‑Katanga, where the disease is endemic. Recent surveillance identified four new health zones with suspected transmission: three in Tshuapa province and one in South Kivu. These expansions illustrate the pathogen’s spread beyond long‑standing foci, raising concerns for communities that already face limited water and sanitation services.

Security constraints in the east, especially around Kibua and Masisi, impede medical teams from reaching affected populations, while the remoteness of villages delays timely treatment. Environmental factors such as reliance on well water and heavy rainfall further fuel contamination. To curb transmission, response teams plan to install four water‑chlorination sites in North Kivu and to disinfect nearly 4,000 households and nearly 5,900 latrines in Tanganyika. A cross‑border oral‑vaccine campaign is being coordinated with the Republic of Congo, and reactive vaccination continues in South Kivu’s Mulungu and Shabunda zones alongside community awareness drives.