Kasomo Kavira, caregiver at the Ebola Treatment Center in Beni, North Kivu province, DRC
The Bundibugyo strain outbreak in the DRC is the largest ever recorded — and water, the absolute first line of defense in any public health emergency, simply does not exist, scientists warn.
O number of infections by Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is likely much higher than official valuesdue to the lack of drinking water and sanitation, warned this Tuesday the .
Oxfam also warns that the number of cases it is likely higher than official figures as contact tracing slows and hygiene infrastructures crumble.
The humanitarian organization stated that there was a almost total collapse of hygiene infrastructures and a critical break in contact tracing since the rare Bundibugyo strain began to spread.
Just one in five health centers in the province of Ituri, one of the epicenters of the virus, has access to sufficient drinking waterOxfam field data shows.
In Mongbwalo, a town in the province with nearly 140,000 inhabitants, only 20% of the population has access to drinking water and only 25% have functional sanitation and hygiene facilities.
“First line of defense” collapsed
According to the Catalan anthropologist Manel Rebordosacoordinator of Oxfam’s field response in Ituri, the conclusions highlight the unfolding crisisdue to contaminated water, lack of hand washing infrastructure and difficulty eliminating infectious waste.
“Water, the absolute first line of defense in any public health emergency, simply does not exist,” he said. “The miners who work in the surrounding areas There are no bathrooms or washing stations of the hands. After, return home to communities already fighting the virus“.
“Drinking water costs 1.70 euros for every 20 literss. For most families here, It’s much more than they can pay“, highlights Rebordosa.
The warning comes after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the outbreak of Bundibugyo strain in the DRC it is the largest ever recorded. There were 781 confirmed cases and 181 deaths in the country, according to a note from the DRC Ministry of Health, on June 13.
This is the third largest Ebola outbreak ever recordedaccording to the CDC, behind only the 2018-20 Kivu epidemic in the DRC and the 2014-16 West African epidemic.
The Bundibugyo strain does not have an authorized vaccinewhich makes drinking water and sanitation essential components in the fight against the virus, notes .
Contact tracing also fell to 43% coverage, well below the 79% recorded a month after the start of the 2018-2020 outbreak in the same region.
In North Kivu province, deaths are being recorded in communities even before they are identified such as Ebola cases, Oxfam said. Additionally, many families care for sick family members at home, exposing others to the virus.
Axis c46% reduction in aid financing from the USA to the DRC, which were reduced from 2.58 billion dollars in 2024 to 1.4 billion in 2026, led toagencies to help you reduce your activityforcing organizations to reduce proximity services.
“When the outreach teams that communities trust disappear, rumors spread faster than the virus,” says Rebordosa. “People are now afraid of health facilitieswhich they see as authentic deadly traps“.
“Families turn to traditional remedieswhich threatens to delay treatment and allow the virus to spread further. Every day without funding, the virus takes more lives“, highlights the anthropologist.
