Medical experts say Ebola response is not enough as virus spreads

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the White House is considering appointing an official to coordinate the administration's response to the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has lowered the number of suspected Ebola cases in Central Africa. CBS News foreign correspondent Remy Nouchi is following these developments for us from London and has more on this. Remy, good morning. What are health officials telling you right now about this outbreak?

[00:00:26]>> Yeah, good morning, Earl. I've been speaking with officials and frontline workers at the World Health Organization, Medecins Sans Frontieres, the International Rescue Committee, and the International Medical Corps. And there's absolute agreement across the board that the medical response right now to Ebola is not enough, that they are admitting that they're behind the curve of this outbreak, and that a lot more does need to be done. This is more PPE, more testing kits, and even more education that Ebola is real. There also appears to be strong agreement that the first case we know of right now on April 24th was likely not the first case. I had a very long discussion with the chief of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and he said that they're looking into when that might have been.

[00:01:16]>> The dead are sealed in plastic bags, disinfected one more time, then buried in row after row here in Bunia, epicenter of the Congo's Ebola outbreak.

[00:01:28]>> Our current outbreak is uh deeply concerning.

[00:01:32]>> On the frontline is Dr. Abdou Sebushishe with the International Medical Corps.

[00:01:37]>> We believe it can go beyond 6 months before uh this outbreak could be uh put under control.

[00:01:43]>> Wow, 6 months.

[00:01:45]The US wants to keep the outbreak in Africa, hoping to build a 50-bed quarantine facility in Kenya only for Americans. Two people were killed Monday in protests. But, in the Congo, the World Health Organization just opened this new 60-bed treatment center with other aid groups opening more soon. And there is hope. Four nurses who contracted Ebola from their patients have recovered. WHO chief Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus celebrated them as proof early intervention works.

[00:02:18]>> Why did it take so long?

[00:02:21]>> This Ebola type is a rare one. The original tests were negative because the test kit people used was optimized for the Zaire type and not for the Bundibugyo type.

[00:02:35]>> Is Ebola still outpacing what's being done?

[00:02:38]>> The virus has circulated more than probably six or eight weeks before even it was detected. It was really a way ahead. That's why now this is a catch-up.

[00:02:50]>> And Dr. Dr. Ghebreyesus also told us that there is a deep sense of distrust from the people toward health workers and that some people there don't even believe that Ebola is real or that he said some people believe it's some kind of mystical curse. And that is exactly why the World Health Organization chief said that raising awareness and then trumpeting those real success stories that we saw just now are so key and that prevention of Ebola he said is better than any kind of cure. Errol.

[00:03:20]>> All right, Remi Niyonsenga in London.

[00:03:21]Remi, thank you.