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By the time health officials confirmed new Ebola infections in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week, the total number of suspected cases meant the outbreak was already one of the largest on record.
A series of challenges and missteps delayed detection, two Congolese officials familiar with the response told Reuters, allowing the disease to spread undetected into rebel-held territory in the east and across the border to the capital of Uganda.
Local funeral practices helped the virus spread before any alarm was raised, diagnostic tests in a local laboratory were calibrated for the wrong strain of Ebola, and samples sent to Kinshasa were not stored or shipped properly, the officials said.
Experts say the resulting delays risk hobbling efforts to contain the outbreak, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the weekend declared a public health emergency of international concern.
