JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Health officials believe the Ebola outbreak in Congo began weeks ago.The outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization and the death toll has risen to more than 100. Two cases, including one death, have also been reported in neighboring Uganda.Here’s a timeline of what we know so far after authorities first struggled to identify the outbreak because it was caused by a rarer virus not normally associated with Ebola outbreaks in Congo:April 24-27A health worker who was the first suspected case authorities knew about falls ill and dies in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province in northeastern Congo. The person’s body is later transported to the nearby mining town of Mongbwalu, according to Congo’s health minister.The health minister says the person died on April 24. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says they died on April 27 after severe bleeding symptoms.
April 28A close contact of the first suspected victim dies after also presenting with symptoms, according to the Africa CDC.April 30Field tests on samples in Bunia are negative for the Ebola virus type, sometimes known as the Zaire virus, which is the virus most commonly found in previous Ebola outbreaks in Congo.Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses. Three of them are known to cause large outbreaks: Ebola virus, Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus, according to WHO. It takes another two weeks before health authorities establish that the rarer Bundibugyo virus is behind this outbreak.
