Ebola was likely circulating in Congo for two months

A rare strain of the Ebola virus is suspected to have killed 139 people in central Africa. Photo: AP PHOTO The Ebola outbreak linked to more than 130 ‌deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo likely started two months ago and is expected to continue to grow, the World Health Organization says.

Ebola was likely circulating in Congo for two months. A rare strain of the Ebola virus is suspected to have killed 139 people in central Africa. Photo: AP PHOTO The Ebola outbreak linked to more than 130 ‌deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo likely started two months ago and is expected to continue to grow, the World Health Organization says. The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is ‌no vaccine, was declared last Friday and has alarmed experts because of how long it went undetected while spreading across a densely populated area, making it difficult to trace and isolate the contacts of infected individuals. The WHO ‌had previously pointed to "a critical four-week detection gap" between when the first known case started showing symptoms and laboratory confirmation of the outbreak. This Ebola strain has an averag...