DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Tanzania on Tuesday summoned the World Health Organization’s local representative over its assertion that the government refused to share information on suspected Ebola cases, signalling displeasure at the agency’s rare public rebuke. A health worker sprays disinfectant on an ambulance at a Health Centre in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 18, 2019. REUTERS/Djaffer Sabiti 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 late on Saturday it was made aware on Sept. 10 of the death of a patient in Dar es Salaam, and was unofficially told the next day that the person had tested positive for Ebola. The woman had died on Sept. 8.[nL5N26D084] On Tuesday government spokesman Hassan Abbasi said on Twitter that WHO country representative Tigest Ketsela Mengestu was summoned by deputy foreign affairs minister Damas Ndumbaro, in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam. “The representative insisted that the WHO has not declared that there is Ebola in Tanzania, nor does it have any evidence on […]
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