A displacement camp in northeastern Congo has recorded 30 deaths in just weeks, and officials say the symptoms look a lot like Ebola but no one is getting tested.

Things are looking grim at Kigonze camp in Bunia, northeastern Congo. At least 30 people have died there since the start of May, and camp officials say the death rate is unlike anything they have seen before. The worrying part is that the symptoms could point to Ebola spreading fast, cbinews.tv reports.

The problem is that no one knows for sure what is killing people. Until Thursday, patients and relatives in Kigonze — which is home to more than 15,000 displaced people had refused to let health workers test the living or the dead. That is according to a camp spokesperson and aid organisation Caritas.

But the signs are troubling. A camp spokesperson, a bereaved father, three aid sources and a civil society leader told reporters that all of the victims had symptoms like headaches, fever and vomiting. Those are all associated with Ebola.

Camp President Dz'djo Ndrutsi Etienne said 10 people were buried this week alone. To put that in context, the camp usually records between one and three deaths per month, spokesperson Grodya said.

Justin Zanamuzi, director of Catholic aid organisation Caritas, said his team saw several bodies covered in sheets on Wednesday, including a pregnant woman and children. Footage shared on Thursday by a civil society leader showed health teams in hazmat suits disinfecting more bodies and preparing tiny coffins next to a crucifix as mourners wailed.

Congo’s Ebola outbreak was officially declared on May 15, but officials say the deaths actually began earlier in the month. Bunia is the epicentre of the current outbreak.

There is a small sign of progress. Grodya said health workers have now taken samples from five victims and are waiting on the results. Cholera is another possibility. It has Ebola like symptoms and spreads quickly in poor communities, though it tends not to transmit person to person.

Four aid workers told cbinews.tv that the spike in deaths shows how vulnerable these communities are. Donor funding for water, hygiene and sanitation has been cut including key money from the US under President Donald Trump. That funding is essential for fighting diseases that spread through bodily fluids like human waste.

The numbers back that up. UN data shows funding for toilets and handwashing stations in Congo more than halved between 2024 and 2025, down to around $38 million. This year’s $80 million appeal is only 21 percent funded.

Congo has hundreds of camps for civilians fleeing war, some with as many as 100,000 people. Ebola deaths have already been recorded in another camp in Ituri province, which has over 90 percent of the nearly 900 confirmed cases.

In Kigonze, there are toilets marked USAID, Washington’s international aid agency that was dismantled by Trump. An aid source said the agency helped fund their construction. But Grodya and the aid source said there are not enough toilets and they often overflow.

Washington used to be the top supporter of WASH services in Congo. It provided over $60 million in WASH services in 2024 to help reduce the spread of diseases, according to a summary shared by a former USAID official.

With more than 5 million displaced people across eastern Congo, aid workers fear Ebola could be circulating undetected. Resistance to testing and collapsing sanitation make it even harder to stop.

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