title: Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1976-2014.
abstract: The Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced the most outbreaks of Ebola virus disease since the virus' discovery in 1976. This article provides for the first time a description and a line list for all outbreaks in this country, comprising 996 cases. Compared to patients over 15 years old, the odds of dying were significantly lower in patients aged 5 to 15 and higher in children under five (with 100% mortality in those under 2 years old). The odds of dying increased by 11% per day that a patient was not hospitalised. Outbreaks with an initially high reproduction number, R (>3), were rapidly brought under control, whilst outbreaks with a lower initial R caused longer and generally larger outbreaks. These findings can inform the choice of target age groups for interventions and highlight the importance of both reducing the delay between symptom onset and hospitalisation and rapid national and international response.
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, London, United Kingdom.|University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosello
authors.affiliation: Direction de lutte contre la maladie, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mossoko
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flasche
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Albert Jan
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Van Hoek
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: Placide
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mbala
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Funk
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kucharski
authors.affiliation: Direction de lutte contre la maladie, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: Benoit Kebela
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Ilunga
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: W John
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Edmunds
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piot
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, London, United Kingdom.|London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baguelin
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques Muyembe
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Tamfum
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D050936:Basic Reproduction Number; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history*; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D016019:Survival Analysis
keywords: Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ebola; epidemiology; global health; outbreaks