Congo’s Ebola outbreak started months before official declaration: WHO

The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record started in February, months before it was officially declared in mid-May, the World Health Organization said Monday as responders in eastern Congo struggle to catch up. The WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, told a news conference that sequencing indicated the outbreak’s start. He said some cases early on were wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid.“So we are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us,” Janabi said.Confirmed cases of Ebola in this outbreak have reached 4,200, including over 1,900 deaths, according to the latest government figures.The outbreak declared on May 15 is unlike most previous ones for Ebola because the rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments. Early testing was conducted for the more common type of Ebola, contributing to delays. Story continues below advertisement The outbreak is unfolding in some of the most challenging conditions imaginable, with strikes by some unpaid health workers, threats by rebel groups, anger from long-traumatized communities and misinformation asserting that Ebola isn’t real. Health teams travel remote, unpaved roads an...