Outcomes of cholera and measles outbreak alerts in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Setting

In 1995, a rapid response project for humanitarian and medical emergencies, including outbreak responses, named 'Pool d'Urgence Congo' (PUC), was implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Médecins Sans Frontières.

Objective

To assess the outcomes of cholera and measles outbreak alerts that were received in the PUC surveillance system between 2016 and 2018.

Design

This was a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Results

Overall, 459 outbreak alerts were detected, respectively 69% and 31% for cholera and measles. Of these, 32% were actively detected and 68% passively detected. Most alerts (90%) required no intervention and 10% of alerts had an intervention. There were 25% investigations that were not carried out despite thresholds being met; 17% interventions were not performed, the main reported reason being PUC operational capacity was exceeded. Confirmed cholera and measles outbreaks that met an investigation threshold comprised respectively 90% and 76% of alerts; 59% of measles investigations were followed by a delayed outbreak response of ⩾14 days (n = 10 outbreaks).

Conclusion

Some alerts for cholera and measles outbreaks that were detected in the PUC system did not lead to a response even when required; the main reported reason was limited operational capacity to respond to all of them.