WHO seeks answers on a suspected case of Ebola in Tanzania

But the World Health Organization took the unusual decision Saturday by issuing a statement detailing the multiple suspected cases of Ebola in Tanzania and criticizing the government for retaining clinical specimens for further testing.

The UN Public Health Agency has reported receiving unofficial reports of at least one Tanzanian patient who has tested positive for Ebola, while at least three others have been reported. hospitalized with symptoms of the disease in different parts of the country.

If the Ebola virus reaches Tanzania, it would mark another serious step in the epidemic. Since August 2018, Ebola has killed 2,119 people and infected 3,175 people in eastern Congo, where violent militias and suspicious residents have hindered the international response.

"Despite several requests, the WHO has not yet received the information necessary to fully assess the potential risk posed by this event," he said.

Tarik Jašarević,

a spokesman for the WHO in Geneva.

Tanzania had never faced the Ebola virus before and deliberate efforts to conceal patients would slow down the measures that have been effective in containing outbreaks.

These include finding out who has been in contact with suspected patients, their vaccination and quarantine if necessary. A recent clinical trial has shown high survival rates in patients who received two experimental treatments early in their illness.

Lawrence Gostin,

Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on Health Law at the National and Global Levels at Georgetown University, stated that he felt that there was evidence credible cases of Ebola in Tanzania.

"Tanzania has to be honest and transparent," said Professor Gostin, whose center provides expertise to the WHO on health legislation and regulation.

A 34-year-old Tanzanian doctor, who died on September 9 in an Ebola-segregation unit in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, is at the center of international efforts to understand what is happening. The WHO said it was this patient who would have tested positive for the Ebola virus.

WHO Member States, such as Tanzania, are required by international health regulations to report suspected cases of Ebola to WHO. The agency's guidelines for the diagnosis of the disease also recommend conducting secondary tests on samples in an outside specialized laboratory, which the Tanzanian government has refused.

The US Secretary of Health and Social Services,

Alex Azar,

Last week, Tanzania was asked to provide "transparent disclosure of information and full cooperation with the international health community to enable independent verification of the circumstances of this person's death".

Robert Redfield,

Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Tanzania to offer help.

A spokesman for the Tanzanian Ministry of Health denied that the country is not cooperating with WHO. "All suspected cases have been tested negative," said the spokesman,

Gerald Chami.

"We have no case of Ebola in Tanzania."

On Tuesday, the government convened the highest-level WHO representative in the country to discuss the agency's statement.

Officials who followed the movements of the deceased doctor in the Ebola unit indicated that it was unclear where she would have contracted the virus. Before she became sick, she was taking postgraduate courses at a university in Kampala, Uganda, but there is no indication that she went to the border with Congo, where several Ebola patients passed through. month.

On August 22, the doctor, whose name was not disclosed, traveled to Mwanza, Tanzania, where she was working at a local medical center. City of about 1 million inhabitants on Lake Victoria, Mwanza is a hub of gold mining frequented by Congolese traders, including those located in the heart of the city. 39 current epidemic, according to mineral traders and local residents.

From Mwanza, field research took her to two other Tanzanian cities, Songea and Mtwara, before heading to Dar es Salaam, where she became ill on August 28, according to local government officials. Tanzania. After his death, 12 days later, his burial was immediate and supervised by the health authorities, said those responsible. Ebola victims are usually buried immediately, usually by specialized teams.

The WHO has reported receiving unofficial reports of three other patients: a 27-year-old man admitted to a hospital in Dar es Salaam with Ebola-like symptoms, a contact from the sick and hospitalized doctor, and another person in Mwanza who had symptoms similar to Ebola.

There have been instances of governments attempting to conceal incidents of infectious diseases, including China during an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in 2003. The WHO has no authority to compel governments to report dangerous diseases or to follow its directions. despite its regulation.

Some experts suspect Tanzania is worried that disclosure of suspected cases will hurt its economy by $ 51 billion. Renowned for its palm beaches and vast wildlife parks, Tanzania relies on tourism for more than 45 percent of its foreign exchange earnings, according to the country's central bank. Some 1.5 million tourists visited the country last year.

President

John Magufuli

has restricted freedom of expression since taking office in 2015, regularly jailing activists, government officials and journalists who publish information the government denies.

International health officials in Tanzania have struggled to get information from their government contacts, said a WHO official.

"Nobody wants to talk publicly about what's going on," said the official. "Even our staff in Tanzania could not get any details from their government colleagues, given their concerns about prosecution."

Write to Betsy McKay at [email protected] and Nicholas Bariyo at [email protected]