The World Health Organization says Ebola transmission in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo starts months before the outbreak is officially declared. WHO says the fastest-growing outbreak begins in February, while the public health emergency is declared in May, leaving responders to contend with an earlier start of spread.
WHO’s African regional director, Mohamed Yakub Janabi, says evidence from virus sequencing indicates the outbreak’s start date. Several outlets report that some initial cases are wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid, which delays recognition and response. Coverage is consistent that the outbreak is moving quickly and that efforts to catch up are ongoing in eastern areas.
The main difference across outlets is emphasis rather than facts: some focus on the timeline gap (February to mid-May), while others stress the role of sequencing in revising the start date and the earlier misclassification of illness. The reporting collectively frames WHO’s findings as a retrospective adjustment that helps explain how the outbreak could grow before formal declaration.
