Wrong test assisted the spread of Ebola, experts say

已複製連結

Matthew M. Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy and Politics says testing the wrong strain of Ebola at the early stage of the outbreak has led to weeks lost in response time.

"We are playing catch-up against a very dangerous pathogen."

Democratic Republic of the Congo will open three Ebola treatment centers in the eastern Ituri province, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is sending a team of experts to the country, following an outbreak of a rare type of the virus that has killed nearly 120 people.

An American doctor in Congo is among the newly confirmed cases of the virus with no approved vaccines or medicines, Congolese officials said Monday, as details emerged about the government's delayed response to the outbreak.

The WHO on Sunday declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. 

As of Monday, there were over 118 deaths and 300 suspected cases in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, and one death and one suspected case in neighbouring Uganda. 

Kavanagh criticises the Trump administration's earlier decision to withdraw from the WHO and make deep cuts in foreign aid - "the exact surveillance system meant to catch these viruses early," he said.
Congo opens more centres to treat rare Ebola

Experts say the number of cases is likely to rise as health officials conduct more surveillance.