The World Health Organization (WHO) has rebuked Tanzania for failing
to provide information about possible Ebola virus infections.
The WHO said it had learned of one suspected fatal case in Dar es
Salaam and two others but, despite repeated requests, was given no
information.
Tanzania has said it has no suspected or confirmed cases.
The latest outbreak has killed more than 2,000 in eastern DR Congo,
with Uganda battling to stop any spread.
An epidemic that ravaged parts of West Africa from 2014 to 2016 killed
more than 11,000 people.
A statement on Saturday said that on 10 September the organisation had
learned of a suspected infection in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s most
populous city, in what would be the country’s first Ebola case.
It said the patient had been to Uganda, shown symptoms of Ebola in
August, tested positive and died on 8 September. It said that the
woman’s contacts had been quarantined.
The WHO said it had unofficial reports of two other possible cases.
It said: “Despite several requests, WHO did not receive further
details of any of these cases from Tanzanian authorities.”
It added: “The limited available official information from Tanzanian
authorities represents a challenge for assessing the risk posed by
this event.”
On 14 September, Tanzania said there were no confirmed or suspected
cases of Ebola in the country.
However, it did not directly address the case of the woman mentioned
by the WHO and provided no further information.
Last week, US Health Secretary Alex Azar criticised Tanzania for its
failure to share information on possible cases.
Tanzania is heavily reliant on tourism, which could be affected by
confirmed cases.
