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

• 01Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could have begun as early as January
• 02Since 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 Uganda
• 03Tedros called on countries that have imposed blanket travel restrictions, such as the US, to lift them, saying they are 'disrupting supply chains and hindering the response'
• 04Contact tracing in the affected areas is at approximately 45% of contacts followed up, and Tedros said this needs to reach above 90% to get ahead of the outbreak
• 05The number of suspected cases in DRC fell from more than 1,000 to 116 on Tuesday as officials worked through a testing backlog
• 06The first identified case was a nurse who went to a health centre on 24 April
• 07There is currently no vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, but six people in DRC and two in Uganda have recovered
• 08Tedros said during a visit to DRC that some community leaders told him they did not believe Ebola was real and worried the response would take resources away from other vital services

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World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may have begun in January, giving the virus an early start despite response efforts now being established across affected areas. The Bundibugyo virus strain has caused 344 confirmed cases and 60 deaths in DRC since its identification in mid-May, with Tedros identifying blanket travel restrictions, community mistrust, and low contact tracing rates as key obstacles to controlling the spread. He called for countries including the US to lift travel restrictions and said contact tracing must increase from its current 45% to above 90% to effectively contain the outbreak.