Why health officials do not have a good handle on the current Ebola outbreak

To get slightly ahead of the virus, health officials need to quickly identify people at risk of infection, a practice known as contact tracing. That's a challenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8192x5464+0+0/resize/8192x5464!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F18%2Fdc%2F1713b90145b39777278f77ca5608%2Febola-contact-tracing-2277596614.jpg' alt='Health investigators in the Democratic Republic of Congo interview individuals as part of their contact tracing — seeking to find those who came into contact with people infected with Ebola.'/><p>To get slightly<em> </em>ahead of the virus, health officials need to quickly identify people at risk of infection, a practice known as contact tracing. That's a challenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p><p>(Image credit: Michel Lunanga)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-134959' />