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Tanzania denies withholding info from WHO on Ebola cases

Tanzania has denied it was withholding information from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on suspected cases of Ebola, saying it was not hiding any outbreak of the deadly disease in the country, reports Polity. "Ebola is known as a fast-spreading disease, whose impact can be felt globally. This is not a disease that the Tanzanian government can hide," Tanzania health minister Ummy Mwalimu is quoted in the report as saying.

Last month the WHO said Tanzania had refused to provide detailed information on suspected Ebola cases. The organisation said it was made aware on 10 September of the death of a patient in Dar es Salaam, and was unofficially told the next day the person had tested positive for Ebola.

Days before WHO's rebuke of Tanzanian authorities the head of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention travelled to the country at the direction of US Health Secretary Alex Azar, who had also criticised the country for not sharing information. Mwalimu said Tanzania has investigated some 28 suspected cases of Ebola over the past year, including two cases in September, but they all tested negative.

She is quoted in the report as saying that they had shared that information with WHO.

[link url="https://www.polity.org.za/article/tanzania-denies-hiding-information-on-suspected-ebola-cases-2019-10-04"]Polity report[/link]

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