title: Sequelae of Ebola virus disease: the emergency within the emergency.
abstract: As the massive outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in west Africa wanes, it has become increasingly clear that thousands of survivors have many sequelae, some of which might be very severe, such as arthritis and vision-threatening uveitis. The mental health effects of EVD on survivors and other family and community members is similarly profound. Furthermore, it is increasingly being recognised that Ebola virus might persist for weeks or months in selected body compartments of survivors, most notably in the semen of men, bringing risk of renewed transmission where it has previously been eliminated. These challenges to EVD survivors constitute a new emergency in terms of addressing individual patient need and to control the disease spread. In this Review, we assess what is known regarding the sequelae of EVD, including possible delayed virus clearance. We discuss some of the key challenges regarding the provision of care to survivors and implementation of necessary future research.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Laboratory of Virology and Swiss Reference Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vetter
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Laboratory of Virology and Swiss Reference Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Laboratory of Virology and Swiss Reference Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schibler
authors.affiliation: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Iza
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ciglenecki
authors.affiliation: Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: bauschd@who.int.
authors.forename: Daniel G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Bausch
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000209:etiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology; D014605:Uveitis / Q000209:etiology