Reuters
source: reuters
The Ebola outbreak linked to more than 130 deaths in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo likely started two months ago and is expected to continue to grow, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine, was declared last Friday and has alarmed experts because of how long it went undetected while spreading across a densely populated area, making it difficult to trace and isolate the contacts of infected individuals.
The WHO had previously pointed to “a critical four-week detection gap” between when the first known case started showing symptoms and laboratory confirmation of the outbreak.
“Investigations are ongoing to ascertain when and where exactly this outbreak started,” Anais Legand, WHO technical officer for viral threats, told reporters in Geneva.
“Given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago.”
Congo has tackled 16 previous Ebola outbreaks but first responders say they lack basic supplies, ranging from pain killers and face masks to the motorcycles needed to trace contacts, undermining their efforts to prevent further spread.
