Tanzania grills WHO representative over Ebola statement

• The UN health agency issued a rare rebuke on Saturday in a lengthy statement detailing how Tanzania had failed to provide information on suspected cases of Ebola in the country.
• The clinical details and the results of the investigation, including laboratory tests performed for differential diagnosis of these patients.

DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania has summoned the top World Health Organisation official in the country to explain a statement it issued on the country's handling of suspected Ebola cases, the government spokesman said Tuesday.

The UN health agency issued a rare rebuke on Saturday in a lengthy statement detailing how Tanzania had failed to provide information on suspected cases of Ebola in the country.

Govermnent spokesman Hassan Abbas wrote on Twitter that WHO country representative Tigest Katsela Mengestu had been called to meet with deputy foreign minister Damas Ndumbaro.

"The government summoned the WHO representative to get more details about its statement which circulated through the media.

The representative insisted that WHO has neither reported nor received any evidence of Ebola in Tanzania," read the tweet accompanied by photos of the meeting.

In a video of the meeting posted on Twitter, Mengestu said: "Thank you for giving us the opportunity to explain about the statement.

Indeed, it's important we have common understanding between us before we draw any conclusion.

WHO did not say there is Ebola. I would like to underline that we did not say that."

While the WHO statement said it had not confirmed any case of Ebola in Tanzania, it raised concerns about the death of a person with suspected Ebola, and contacts who had since fallen ill.

"Despite several requests, WHO did not receive further details of any of these cases from Tanzanian authorities," the WHO said.

On September 14 Tanzanian authorities officially reported there was no Ebola in the country, but declined "secondary confirmation testing" at a WHO centre, the global health body said.

Then on Thursday, the WHO was made aware that a contact of the initial patient was sick and in hospital.

"To date, the clinical details and the results of the investigation, including laboratory tests performed for differential diagnosis of these patients, have not been shared with WHO."

Tanzania, like other countries in the region, have been on high alert due to an outbreak of Ebola in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo which has claimed over 2,000 lives.