DRC Ebola outbreak could have begun as early as January, WHO chief says

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the virus ‘had a big head start’ but that the response was catching up

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could have begun as early as January, the head of the World Health Organization said, giving the virus “a big head start”.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the response was being hindered by blanket travel restrictions and highlighted high levels of community mistrust and low levels of contact tracing as key concerns.

Since the outbreak was identified in mid-May, the Bundibugyo virus has caused 344 confirmed Ebola cases including 60 deaths in DRC, and 15 confirmed cases including one death in neighbouring Uganda.

“The outbreak had a big head start, and we’re still behind” but the response was catching up, Tedros said, with treatment centres now established across Ituri province, the most affected part of DRC.

He called on countries that have imposed blanket travel restrictions, such as the US, to lift them. They “are disrupting supply chains and hindering the response”, he said.

Contact tracing, a key element of the response to any infectious disease outbreak, is being made particularly difficult by insecurity and displacement in Ituri, he said, with only about 45% of contacts followed up.

“To get ahead of the outbreak we need to get that number up to above 90%,” he said.