The Ebola outbreak probably started months ago in central Africa and spread undetected until a super-spreader event in early May, possibly a funeral, World Health Organization officials said.
The rare Bundibugyo strain circulated for ¡°a couple months¡± before being identified in blood samples on May 15, Anais Legand, WHO¡¯s technical lead for viral hemorrhagic fevers, said at a briefing Wednesday. The first confirmed death took place April 20, and experts used social media posts to reconstruct the recent progress of the virus after the super-spreader event on May 5.
Two factors complicated efforts to identify the virus earlier. Authorities used tests for a different Ebola strain, resulting in false negatives, and many symptoms can resemble those of malaria, according to Abdirahman Mahamud of the agency¡¯s Health Emergencies Program.
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