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

Abstract

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.