Cholera Deaths During Outbreaks in Uvira, Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 10-35 Months After Mass Vaccination

Patrick Musole Bugeme; Hanmeng Xu; Chloe Hutchins; Juan Dent; Jaime Mufitini Saidi; Baron Bashige Rumedeka; Moïse Itongwa; Joël Faraja Zigashane Mashauri; Faraja Masembe Lulela; Justin Bengehya; Jean-Claude Kulondwa; Amanda K Debes; Iza Ciglenecki; Esperance Tshiwedi; Faida Kitoga; Tavia Bodisa-Matamu; Taty Nadège; Hugo Kavunga-Membo; Octavie Lunguya; Placide Okitayemba Welo; Jackie Knee; Daniel Mukadi-Bamuleka; Andrew S Azman; Espoir Bwenge Malembaka

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae058

Cholera Deaths During Outbreaks in Uvira, Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 10-35 Months After Mass Vaccination

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Feb 1;11(3):ofae058. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae058. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Patrick Musole Bugeme^{1

2}, Hanmeng Xu¹, Chloe Hutchins³, Juan Dent¹, Jaime Mufitini Saidi⁴, Baron Bashige Rumedeka^{1

4}, Moïse Itongwa⁵, Joël Faraja Zigashane Mashauri⁵, Faraja Masembe Lulela⁵, Justin Bengehya⁶, Jean-Claude Kulondwa⁶, Amanda K Debes⁷, Iza Ciglenecki⁸, Esperance Tshiwedi⁹, Faida Kitoga⁹, Tavia Bodisa-Matamu⁹, Taty Nadège¹⁰, Hugo Kavunga-Membo^{9

11}, Octavie Lunguya¹¹, Placide Okitayemba Welo¹⁰, Jackie Knee³, Daniel Mukadi-Bamuleka^{9

11}, Andrew S Azman^{1

12

13}, Espoir Bwenge Malembaka^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
² Centre for Tropical Diseases and Global Health (CTDGH), Université Catholique de Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
³ Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
⁴ Zone de Santé d'Uvira, Ministère de la Santé Publique, Hygiène et Prévention, Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
⁵ Oxfam GB, Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
⁶ Division Provinciale de la Santé Publique du Sud-Kivu, Ministère de la Santé Publique, Hygiène et Prévention, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
⁷ Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁸ Medical Department, Médecins Sans Frontières, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁹ Rodolphe Merieux INRB-Goma Laboratory, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
¹⁰ Programme National d'Elimination de Choléra et de lutte contre les autres Maladies Diarrhéiques (PNECHOL-MD), Ministère de la Santé Publique, Hygiène et Prévention, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
¹¹ Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, INRB, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
¹² Geneva Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), Geneva, Switzerland.
¹³ Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), Geneva, Switzerland.

Abstract

Our understanding of the burden and drivers of cholera mortality is hampered by limited surveillance and confirmation capacity. Leveraging enhanced clinical and laboratory surveillance in the cholera-endemic community of Uvira, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, we describe cholera deaths across 3 epidemics between September 2021 and September 2023 following mass vaccination.

Grants and funding

WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom