Ebola Virus Outbreak Investigation, Sierra Leone, September 28-November 11, 2014.
During 2014-2015, an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) swept across parts of West Africa. The China Mobile Laboratory Testing Team was dispatched to support response efforts; during September 28-November 11, 2014, they conducted PCR testing on samples from 1,635 suspected EVD patients. Of those patients, 50.4% were positive, of whom 84.6% lived within a 3-km zone along main roads connecting rural towns and densely populated cities. The median time from symptom onset to testing was 5 days. At testing, 75.7% of the confirmed patients had fever, and 94.1% reported at least 1 gastrointestinal symptom; all symptoms, except rash and hemorrhage, were more frequent in confirmed than nonconfirmed patients. Virus loads were significantly higher in EVD patients with fever, diarrhea, fatigue, or headache. The case-fatality rate was lower among patients 15-44 years of age and with virus loads of <100,000 RNA copies/mL. These findings are key for optimizing EVD control and treatment measures.
Hui-Jun
HJ
Lu
Jun
J
Qian
David
D
Kargbo
Xiao-Guang
XG
Zhang
Fan
F
Yang
Yi
Y
Hu
Yang
Y
Sun
Yu-Xi
YX
Cao
Yong-Qiang
YQ
Deng
Hao-Xiang
HX
Su
Foday
F
Dafae
Yu
Y
Sun
Cheng-Yu
CY
Wang
Wei-Min
WM
Nie
Chang-Qing
CQ
Bai
Zhi-Ping
ZP
Xia
Kun
K
Liu
Brima
B
Kargbo
George F
GF
Gao
Jia-Fu
JF
Jiang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005260:Female; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012807:Sierra Leone / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
Ebola virus; Ebola virus disease; Sierra Leone; clinical features; control measures; epidemic; epidemiologic characteristics; epidemiology; investigation; laboratory testing; outbreak; transmission; treatment; virus load; viruses; western Africa