Ebola spread undetected for months, WHO says
The revelation raises the likelihood that the latest Ebola outbreak’s true scale is far larger than previously thought.
An Ebola outbreak that has claimed more than 2,000 lives in eastern DR Congo began three months earlier than initially declared, according to the World Health Organization. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of the virus, is the second-deadliest on record. The WHO's Africa director, Mohamed Janabi, revealed that genomic sequencing indicates the outbreak started in February, with some early cases being misdiagnosed as malaria and typhoid.
The organization is now prioritizing the Ervebo vaccine for clinical trials against the Bundibugyo strain as researchers work on a vaccine specifically targeting this new variant.
Brief written by urgent.news from Semafor's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
