Epidemics That Weren’t: How Countries Shut Down Recent Outbreaks

(NYT) Some of the most fragile health systems in the world can teach us ways to respond to public health threats early and effectively. When Ebola swept through the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2018, it was a struggle to track cases. Dr. Billy Yumaine, a public health official, recalls steady flows of people moving back and forth across the border with Uganda while others hid sick family members in their homes because they feared the authorities. It took at least a week to get test results, and health officials had difficulty isolating sick people while they waited.