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Editor, Senior Moderator
Shabunda Territory
/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabunda_Territory
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Outbreak of acute diarrhea in Shabunda: Dr. Pacifique Kapimbu warns of a 21% fatality rate
Published on Mon, 13/07/2026 - 14:45 | Modified on Mon, 13/07/2026 - 14:45
A critical health emergency is shaking the Shabunda territory. Between June 23 and July 7, 2026, the Mulungu health zone recorded 52 cases of acute diarrhea, which have already resulted in 11 deaths.
Medical staff are expressing their deep concern over the prevalence of severe dehydration cases, particularly within the Lubila health area, a facility lacking any logistical and therapeutic support to contain the epidemic.
In an official epidemiological alert, the chief medical officer for the area, Dr. Pacifique Kapimbu Wilondja, specifies that this wave of infection was concentrated during the 26th and 27th epidemiological weeks. The case fatality rate has reached the dramatic threshold of 21.1%. Although adults aged 18 to 50 constitute the most affected group, young children aged 1 to 5 are not spared from the virulence of the infection.
Initial field investigations point to a major risk factor: the forced supply of untreated drinking water to local populations directly from the Lubila and Ulindi rivers. This dependence on waterways during periods of low water accelerates the spread of waterborne pathogens within households.
An urgent appeal for humanitarian aid in the face of indifference
Dr. Pacifique Kapimbu Wilondja laments that, despite the cyclical and predictable nature of these diarrheal outbreaks in Lubila during the dry season, no external support has been mobilized to date. To break the chain of transmission, the health zone management recommends an immediate response based on four pillars:
Strengthening epidemiological surveillance and field investigations.
Rapid clinical management of dehydration cases.
Intensified awareness campaigns on environmental sanitation.
Distribution of water purification kits.
The chief medical officer of the area is making an urgent appeal to technical and financial partners and humanitarian NGOs for the urgent dispatch of rehydration solutions, medicines and stocks of chlorine to avoid a massacre.
https://www.radiookapi.net/2026/07/...-shabunda-dr-pacifique-kapimbu-alerte-sur-un