Epidemiologists have used mobile-phone data and test records to map the early spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)1 weeks before the outbreak was declared. The authors say the study findings reveal how surveillance systems failed to detect signals of the disease early on and enabled it to spread rapidly. It is now six months since the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus was announced. The number of confirmed infections has risen to more than 10,000 and 5,198 people have died, making this the largest Bundibugyo outbreak so far. There are no licenced vaccines or approved treatments specifically for Bundibugyo, which has complicated efforts to control it. The DRC declared the outbreak on 15 May after laboratory tests confirmed the first case, a person from Ituri province in the country's northeast, was infected with the Bundibugyo strain. Around the same time, suspected cases were being reported in several DRC locations, including Mongbwalu,...
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