Faced with a lack of running water, unsanitary conditions and poverty, the Kinshasa neighborhood of Pakadjuma has struggled to end a cholera epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this year.
Some 20 African countries have been tackling outbreaks of the severe intestinal infection since the start of the year, with the DRC the second-worst hit as of late June, reporting 34,000 cases, according to the World Health Organization.
South Sudan leads with 63,000 cases and Sudan follows with around 32,000 cases and Angola another 27,000.
While those countries are witnessing “a decrease in the burden” of disease, DRC has experienced “a concerning increase in the number of cases,” said Yap Boum II of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The epicenter of the DRC’s epidemic, the capital Kinshasa, is particularly hard-hit, due to flooding, insufficient access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and “high mobility of populations,” he added.
In April, severe flooding caused by torrential rains resulted in dozens of deaths in this city of approximately 17 million residents.
At the Center for the Treatment of Cholera (CTC) in Pakadjuma in eastern Kinshasa, patients or their relatives, carrying the weakest on their backs, arrived by foot, stepping over piles of garbage and flowing water.
Inside the center, made of tarpaulins and wooden planks on marshy ground, most patients are hooked up to IV drips and relieve themselves on the spot.
More than 35,000 cases and 852 deaths have been recorded across 17 of the DRC’s 26 provinces, “with a national fatality rate of 2.4%, and up to 10.2% in Kinshasa,” the WHO country office told AFP.
At the CTC in Pakadjuma, at least 26 deaths have been recently recorded, according to Mireille Mabanzanga, head of medical activities for the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which supports the center.
To fight against the disease, “we must use clean water, wash hands regularly. We have one single message: hygiene, hygiene, hygiene,” Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba told reporters.
An acute diarrheal infection, cholera is caused by consuming food or water contaminated by a bacterium, the Vibrio cholerae.
In June, “82% of global cholera cases were recorded in Africa, as well as 93.5% of deaths,” Boum noted.
‘God protects us’
In Pakadjuma, “apart from the flooding, we also have the defective condition of our facilities, in addition to issues with the supply of clean drinking water,” said Devos Kabemba, chief medical officer for the area.
Sandwiched between the rails of the old Kinshasa railway and a large illegal garbage dump scattered over sewers, the Pakadjuma center consists of makeshift shelters cramped tightly together, with no water drainage channels.
In this densely populated neighborhood, “the medical challenge is to break the transmission chain” of the disease, Kabemba said.
“When it rains, the homes are flooded, causing erosion, and leading to diseases spreading among us. The canals are also clogged, and rainwater no longer finds its way. It may dry up a bit, and children start playing, then they fall ill,” cholera survivor Djany Abanda told AFP.
The 27-year-old mother was hospitalized for two days last weekend before returning home.
“I contracted the disease out of negligence. I ate without washing my hands after visiting the CTC. I thought the disease was not here, and anyway, God protects us. But I got infected—the disease really exists,” she said.
The WHO insists that a “multisectoral response” combining water, hygiene and sanitation must be intensified.
But basic hygiene seems impossible to achieve in Pakadjuma, which is plagued by a foul odor and flies everywhere.
“Can people live like this in a city?” said resident Gilbert Mujinga, pointing to a pile of garbage and other waste.
“We are here, exposed to cholera, just as we were exposed during the coronavirus epidemic.”
© 2025 AFP
Citation:
Kinshasa slum battles deadly cholera outbreak (2025, July 25)
retrieved 25 July 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-kinshasa-slum-deadly-cholera-outbreak.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Faced with a lack of running water, unsanitary conditions and poverty, the Kinshasa neighborhood of Pakadjuma has struggled to end a cholera epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this year.
Some 20 African countries have been tackling outbreaks of the severe intestinal infection since the start of the year, with the DRC the second-worst hit as of late June, reporting 34,000 cases, according to the World Health Organization.
South Sudan leads with 63,000 cases and Sudan follows with around 32,000 cases and Angola another 27,000.
While those countries are witnessing “a decrease in the burden” of disease, DRC has experienced “a concerning increase in the number of cases,” said Yap Boum II of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The epicenter of the DRC’s epidemic, the capital Kinshasa, is particularly hard-hit, due to flooding, insufficient access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and “high mobility of populations,” he added.
In April, severe flooding caused by torrential rains resulted in dozens of deaths in this city of approximately 17 million residents.
At the Center for the Treatment of Cholera (CTC) in Pakadjuma in eastern Kinshasa, patients or their relatives, carrying the weakest on their backs, arrived by foot, stepping over piles of garbage and flowing water.
Inside the center, made of tarpaulins and wooden planks on marshy ground, most patients are hooked up to IV drips and relieve themselves on the spot.
More than 35,000 cases and 852 deaths have been recorded across 17 of the DRC’s 26 provinces, “with a national fatality rate of 2.4%, and up to 10.2% in Kinshasa,” the WHO country office told AFP.
At the CTC in Pakadjuma, at least 26 deaths have been recently recorded, according to Mireille Mabanzanga, head of medical activities for the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which supports the center.
To fight against the disease, “we must use clean water, wash hands regularly. We have one single message: hygiene, hygiene, hygiene,” Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba told reporters.
An acute diarrheal infection, cholera is caused by consuming food or water contaminated by a bacterium, the Vibrio cholerae.
In June, “82% of global cholera cases were recorded in Africa, as well as 93.5% of deaths,” Boum noted.
‘God protects us’
In Pakadjuma, “apart from the flooding, we also have the defective condition of our facilities, in addition to issues with the supply of clean drinking water,” said Devos Kabemba, chief medical officer for the area.
Sandwiched between the rails of the old Kinshasa railway and a large illegal garbage dump scattered over sewers, the Pakadjuma center consists of makeshift shelters cramped tightly together, with no water drainage channels.
In this densely populated neighborhood, “the medical challenge is to break the transmission chain” of the disease, Kabemba said.
“When it rains, the homes are flooded, causing erosion, and leading to diseases spreading among us. The canals are also clogged, and rainwater no longer finds its way. It may dry up a bit, and children start playing, then they fall ill,” cholera survivor Djany Abanda told AFP.
The 27-year-old mother was hospitalized for two days last weekend before returning home.
“I contracted the disease out of negligence. I ate without washing my hands after visiting the CTC. I thought the disease was not here, and anyway, God protects us. But I got infected—the disease really exists,” she said.
The WHO insists that a “multisectoral response” combining water, hygiene and sanitation must be intensified.
But basic hygiene seems impossible to achieve in Pakadjuma, which is plagued by a foul odor and flies everywhere.
“Can people live like this in a city?” said resident Gilbert Mujinga, pointing to a pile of garbage and other waste.
“We are here, exposed to cholera, just as we were exposed during the coronavirus epidemic.”
© 2025 AFP
Citation:
Kinshasa slum battles deadly cholera outbreak (2025, July 25)
retrieved 25 July 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-kinshasa-slum-deadly-cholera-outbreak.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
