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 Transparency and speed are key to combating the deadly hemorrhagic
fever because it can spread rapidly. Anyone deemed to have been in
contact with potentially infected people must be quarantined and the
public warned to step up precautions such as handwashing.
WHO said in a statement late on Saturday that it was made aware on
Sept. 10 of the death of a patient in Dar es Salaam, and
unofficially told the next day that the person tested positive for
Ebola. The woman had died on Sept. 8.
"Identified contacts of the deceased were unofficially reported to
be quarantined in various sites in the country," the statement said.
WHO said it was unofficially told that Tanzania had two other
possible Ebola cases. One had tested negative and there was no
information on the other.
Officially, the Tanzanian government said last weekend it had no
confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola. The government did not
address the death of the woman directly and did not provide further
information.
Despite several requests, "clinical data, results of the
investigations, possible contacts and potential laboratory tests
performed ... have not been communicated to WHO", the U.N. agency
said.
"The limited available official information from Tanzanian
authorities represents a challenge."
Officials in Tanzania's health ministry could not be reached for
comment.
Authorities in east and central Africa have been on high alert for
possible spillovers of Ebola from the Democratic Republic of Congo,
where a year-long outbreak has killed more than 2,000 people.
The WHO was heavily criticized by experts during West Africa’s
2014-2016 Ebola epidemic, which claimed more than 11,300 lives in
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, for not moving more quickly to
contain the outbreak, which remains the world’s worst.
FEARS SPREAD
Last week the U.S. health secretary, Alex Azar, criticized Tanzania
for failing to share information on the possible outbreak. The next
day he sent a senior health official to Tanzania.
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Uganda has already recorded several cases after sick patients
crossed the border from Congo. A quick government response there
prevented the disease spreading.
The 34-year-old woman who died in Dar es Salaam had traveled to
Uganda, according to a leaked WHO document circulated earlier this
month. She showed signs of Ebola including headache, fever, rash and
bloody diarrhea on Aug. 10 and died on Sept. 8.
Tanzania relies heavily on tourism and an outbreak of Ebola would
likely discourage visitors.
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said the organization stood ready to
help Tanzania should an outbreak be confirmed and that its country
office in Tanzania had been reinforced with experts in patient care,
infection prevention and other specialities.
"WHO is standing by to facilitate the delivery of various supplies,
including vaccines and therapeutics. This will occur upon request by
the government," Jasarevic said, adding there were enough supplies
of vaccine to provide if needed.
The Geneva-based agency had also shipped 1,000 sets of protective
equipment to Tanzania 10 days ago.
WHO's statement is not the first time international organizations
have queried information from the government of President John
Magufuli, nicknamed The Bulldozer.
Earlier this year, the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund contradicted the government's economic growth figure for 2018.
(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Writing by Elias
Biryabarema; Editing by Katharine Houreld, Robert Birsel and Raissa
Kasolowsky)
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