Ebola Circulated for Weeks Before WHO Declared Emergency

Ebola was spreading in eastern Congo for weeks before health officials realized what they were dealing with, and by the time the World Health Organization labeled the outbreak a global health emergency, the numbers were already grim, the New York Times reports. Congo's health ministry reports at least 105 suspected deaths in Ituri province alone, with hundreds of possible cases across the region and infections now reaching Goma in eastern Congo and Kampala, Uganda's capital. The number of suspected cases is constantly increasing. Five neighboring countries have stepped up border checks; Rwanda has closed its border with Congo. Per Bloomberg, the situation "is fast becoming an early test of what a retreat in Western health funding might mean for global pandemic preparedness."

Experts say a mix of delayed alerts, limited lab capacity, and local mistrust let the outbreak get dangerously ahead of responders. Early tests in Ituri screened only for the most common Ebola strain, so results initially came back negative; later testing in Kinshasa identified the rarer Bundibugyo species, which has no approved vaccines or treatments. The WHO cites a "critical four-week detection gap," during which infected people traveled and took part in traditional burials. An American doctor working with a missionary group is among the confirmed cases, and Africa CDC's chief says he is in "panic mode" as health workers race to trace contacts in a conflict zone where some communities have stopped turning to clinics altogether. The US doctor and six high-risk contacts who are also American are being transported to Germany for treatment, the Washington Post reports.