DRC’s Ebola outbreak began months before it was officially declared, says WHO

Earlier cases of the disease were wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid, WHO said.Published On 10 Aug 202610 Aug 2026The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record started in February, months before it was officially declared in mid-May, said the World Health Organization (WHO) as responders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) battle the surge in cases.Mohamed Janabi, the WHO’s regional director for Africa, told a news conference on Monday that sequencing indicated the outbreak’s start, with some cases early on wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Ebola outbreak accelerates as healthcare workers strike over paylist 2 of 4DR Congo Ebola health workers protest unpaid wages as deaths surpass 1,800list 3 of 4WHO chief: Ebola outbreak in DRC spreading at ‘unprecedented rate’list 4 of 4Ebola cases top 4,000 in DRC as WHO urges Ervebo vaccine trialend of list“So we are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us,” Janabi said.Confirmed cases of Ebola in the DRC have reached 4,200, including at least 1,900 deaths, according to latest government figures.The Ebola outbreak declared on May 15 is unlike most previous ones because the r...