Up to 16 January 1998, a total of 1,242 cases of cholera had been reported in a military camp situated 5 kms from Kisangani. Of these, 234 cases were fatal (case fatality rate 19%). The outbreak had apparently started in October 1997 but was not reported until 21 December. The population in the camp was reported to be 4 000 in December and 3 000 in January but appeared to be less after at least 2 000 soldiers had been transferred to another military camp. The early warning system based on 23 sentinel sites in Kisangani have reported an increased number of cases of diarrhoea among the general population since the last week of December and a few cases of cholera have also been notified among the civilian population north-west of Kisangani during the second week of January. A cholera treatment centre established in the general hospital in Kisangani by Medecins Sans Fronti treating about 300 patients at present, most of them with cholera. The patients are in general young, between 12 and 18 years, and 30% of them are suffering from severe malnutrition.