WHO rebukes Tanzania’s Ebola opacity

NAIROBI, Kenya — The World Health Organization has accused Tanzanian authorities of withholding information about multiple suspected Ebola cases this month.

The statement Saturday was the international health body’s most pointed rebuke toward any government during the current outbreak, which has ravaged nearby eastern Congo for more than a year and killed more than 2,000 people.

The WHO was made aware of the suspected cases of the virus shortly after one appeared in the East African country’s capital city, Dar es Salaam, earlier this month. After that, however, the international health body was shut out of the testing of any blood samples and was told by the Tanzanian government that Ebola had been ruled out.

Tanzanian authorities have not offered alternative diagnoses for the sickened patients.

“The limited available official information from Tanzanian authorities represents a challenge,” the WHO said in the statement. “Clinical data, results of the investigations, possible contacts and potential laboratory tests performed … have not been communicated to WHO.”

The United Nations health agency said it was made aware on Sept. 10 of the death in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, of a patient suspected to have Ebola. A day later, it received unofficial reports that an Ebola test had turned up positive. On Thursday, it received unofficial reports that a contact of the patient, who had traveled widely in the country, was sick and hospitalized.

The WHO had received no information on a third possible case, also in the capital.

The ongoing Ebola outbreak is the world’s second-worst but has largely remained confined to two provinces in eastern Congo since it began in August 2018. Days with dozens of new cases have been seen regularly over the past few months.

A small number of Congolese who sought treatment in neighboring Uganda were confirmed to have the virus in that country, but the outbreak has largely been contained within Congo’s borders.

Nevertheless, Ebola is a virus that can travel far before its symptoms — which include extreme fever and throwing up blood — become apparent. The WHO has already followed up on potential cases in the current outbreak that traveled as far as Dubai and China. Contacts of any suspected cases must be quarantined to effectively prevent the virus’s spread.

Tanzania has never had a confirmed case of Ebola. Tourism makes up a significant portion of the country’s economy, and Ebola’s presence there could lead to trip cancellations.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was in Congo earlier this month to survey the Ebola response and before the WHO statement had urged Tanzania to meet its international obligations for transparency.

“We call upon the government of Tanzania to comply with its obligation under the International Health Regulations immediately with transparent disclosure of information and full cooperation with the international health community to allow for independent verification as to the circumstances of that individual’s death,” Azar told reporters during a briefing.