WHO Defends Ebola Response After Rubio Criticism

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agency was “a little late” in identifying infections. WHO authorities stressed that national health agencies hold primary responsibility for detecting disease spread under international rules. “We don’t replace the country’s work,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, said at a press briefing.

” Tedros said Rubio’s comments “could be from lack of understanding of how IHR works, and the responsibilities of WHO and other entities,” referring to the International Health Regulations.

The outbreak was declared on Friday by African health officials.

WHO experts said nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths have been recorded, with signs that many infections have gone uncounted. The first known death occurred on April 20, according to the WHO’s Abdirahman Mahamud. Initial tests came back negative because the infections are driven by a rare Ebola strain called Bundibugyo.

Samples had to be sent 1,700 kilometers to a lab in Kinshasa for advanced testing. The Bundibugyo virus was identified on May 14.

The outbreak is occurring in a remote area of eastern DRC with ongoing conflict that has limited access to health care. Early symptoms of Ebola are similar to those of malaria and typhoid, which health care workers are more likely to encounter. “In remote or insecure areas, it can take time for cases to be recognized” and samples to be transported, said Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO’s regional director for Africa.

Tedros said the outbreak “is more complex” than past Ebola outbreaks the DRC has responded to.