NewsWorld newsHealthThe World Health Organisation has acknowledged that the Ebola outbreak started "a couple of months ago" after criticism from the US - this is a breaking story12:29, 20 May 2026Updated 12:42, 20 May 2026The World Health Organisation has admitted that the Ebola outbreak started "a couple of months ago" after facing sharp criticism from the US.‌US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the United Nations' health agency had been "a little late" in identifying the disease. Rubio told reporters: "The lead is obviously going to be CDC [Centers for Disease Control] and the World Health Organisation [WHO], which was a little late to identify this thing unfortunately."‌The Bundibugyo virus - a species of Ebola - causing an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is suspected of killing more than 130 people. The virus is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, which is complicating the response because there are no specific treatments or vaccines.‌At a press conference on Wednesday morning, a reporter asked how long Ebola had been spreading before it was detected and whether the WHO had any response to criticism from Rubio.‌Anais Legand, an Academic Researcher from WHO, replied: "Surveillance starts within the communities and starts with the health organisations in every single country."She continued: "As soon as WHO was aware, support was provided to DRC to investigate as soon as possible and this ended with the confirmation late last week."Investigations are ongoing to assert when and where exactly this outbreak started, given the scale we are thinking it started probably a couple of months ago. But the investigation is ongoing and our priority is to cut the transmission chain."Article continues belowDuring the briefing, the head of WHO also warned that the number of suspected cases has hit nearly 600 with over 100 suspected dead. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that 51 cases had so far been confirmed in the DRC's northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, "although we know the scale of the epidemic is much larger".Bundibugyo virus has caused two other outbreaks, all in the same region of the Congo River basin, said Dr Tom Ksiazek, a University of Texas Medical Branch virologist and veterinarian. He directed the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Special Pathogens Branch, which first identified the virus in 2007.Other viruses that cause Ebola disease are the Ebola virus (sometimes called the Zaire virus), the Sudan virus and the Taï Forest virus, which is not known to cause large outbreaks.Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Breaking NewsHealth