Fastest growing an epidemic Ebola outbreak ever recorded began in February, months before it was officially declared in mid-May, the regional director said Monday World Health Organization (WHO) for Africa Mohamed Yaqub Janabi.
Janabi told a news conference in Bunia, Congo, that genetic sequencing indicated an earlier start to the epidemic, but some cases were then mistakenly attributed to malaria and typhus, the Associated Press reports.
"This means that we are still chasing the virus that is in front of us," said Dzhanabi.
According to the latest official data, 4.200 Ebola patients have been registered so far, and more than 1.900 patients have died.
The epidemic declared on May 15 is different from the previous ones because it was caused by the rare Bundibujo virus, for which there is no approved therapy or vaccine.
Early tests were conducted for another, much more common type of Ebola, which further contributed to the delay in the response.
The epidemic is spreading under the harshest conditions imaginable, with strikes by unpaid health workers, threats from rebel groups, anger from long-traumatized communities, and misinformation that claims Ebola doesn't exist.
Health teams travel along remote, unpaved roads and report a shortage of protective equipment, while large populations of displaced people struggle to find reliable sources of water to wash their hands.
This Ebola outbreak is the deadliest to date, killing people faster than any other, including a major outbreak that killed more than 11.000 people in West Africa from 2014 to 2016.
Then the thousandth victim was registered after eight months, and now after a little more than a month.
Source: FoNet
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