title: Ebola hemorrhagic fever and pregnancy.
abstract: Fifteen (14%) of 105 women with Ebola hemorrhagic fever hospitalized in the isolation unit of the Kikwit General Hospital (Democratic Republic of the Congo) were pregnant. In 10 women (66%) the pregnancy ended with an abortion. In 3 of them, a curettage was performed, and all 3 received a blood transfusion from an apparently healthy person. One woman was prematurely delivered of a stillbirth. Four pregnant women died during the third trimester of their pregnancy. All women presented with severe bleeding. Only 1 survived; she had a curettage because of an incomplete abortion after 8 months of amenorrhea. The mortality among pregnant women with Ebola hemorrhagic fever (95.5%) was slightly but not significantly higher than the overall mortality observed during the Ebola epidemic in Kikwit (77%; 245/316 infected persons).
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Kinshasa, and Ministry of Public Health, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mupapa
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mukundu
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bwaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kipasa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Roo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuvula
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kibadi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Massamba
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ndaberey
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Colebunders
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Muyembe-Tamfum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000209:etiology; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000401:mortality