title: Field Evaluation of Capillary Blood Samples as a Collection Specimen for the Rapid Diagnosis of Ebola Virus Infection During an Outbreak Emergency.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reliable reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based diagnosis of Ebola virus infection currently requires a blood sample obtained by intravenous puncture. During the current Ebola outbreak in Guinea, we evaluated the usability of capillary blood samples collected from fingersticks of patients suspected of having Ebola virus disease (EVD) for field diagnostics during an outbreak emergency.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 120 venous and capillary blood samples were collected from 53 patients admitted to the Ebola Treatment Centre in Guéckédou, Guinea, between July and August 2014. All sample specimens were analyzed by RT-PCR using the RealStar Filovirus Screen RT-PCR Kit 1.0 from altona Diagnostics (Germany). We compared samples obtained by venipuncture and those obtained by capillary blood sampling absorbed onto swab devices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The resulting sensitivity and specificity of tests performed with capillary blood samples were 86.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 71.9%-95.6%; 33/38 patients) and 100% (95% CI, 84.6%-100%; 22/22 patients), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that capillary blood samples could serve as an alternative to venous blood samples for the diagnosis of EVD in resource-limited settings during a crisis. This can be of particular advantage in cases when venipuncture is difficult to perform-for example, with newborns and infants or when adult patients reject venipuncture for cultural or religious reasons.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Philipps University, Marburg European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Strecker
authors.affiliation: European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany National Center for Epidemiology, Hungarian National Biosafety Laboratory, Budapest.
authors.forename: Bernadett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Palyi
authors.affiliation: European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ellerbrok
authors.affiliation: Médecins sans Frontières, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jonckheere
authors.affiliation: Médecins sans Frontières, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: de Clerck
authors.affiliation: European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany Institut National de Santé Publique, Conakry, Guinea.
authors.forename: Joseph Akoi
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bore
authors.affiliation: European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.affiliation: European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Kilian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stoecker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Philipps University, Marburg European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eickmann
authors.affiliation: Médecins sans Frontières, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Herp
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Formenty
authors.affiliation: European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany Istituto Nazionale per le Malattie Infettive "L. Spallanzani," Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Caro
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Philipps University, Marburg European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany Centre for Infection Research, Partner Site Giessen-Marburg-Langen, Philipps University, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004630:Emergencies; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D016701:Guinea; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Ebola virus; Ebola virus disease; capillary blood; field diagnostic