Get the latest news and updates from Dawn
The Ebola outbreak raging in central Africa had a “big head-start”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief acknowledged Wednesday, but insisted efforts to rein in the deadly virus were making progress.
The outbreak, which was declared on May 15 in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has so far been confirmed to have infected 359 people, including 61 who have died.
But the actual numbers could be far higher, with the virus believed to have been spreading under the radar for some time before it was detected.
“The outbreak had a big head-start and we’re still behind,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at the UN health agency’s headquarters in Geneva, but insisted that “we’re catching up”.
