title: Social and cultural factors behind community resistance during an Ebola outbreak in a village of the Guinean Forest region, February 2015: a field experience.
abstract: During the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, community resistance obstructed case investigation and response. We investigated a cluster of Ebola cases that were hiding in the forest, refusing external help, to identify sociocultural determinants related to community resistance.
  
  
  
  Participant observation, interviews and focus group discussions were carried out.
  
  
  
  Most villagers feared the Ebola treatment centre (ETC) as there was the belief that people were killed in ETCs for organ trade. Four survivors accompanied back to the village from the ETC shared their experiences and reassured their neighbours. Subsequently, community compliance with contact tracing improved, leading to the timely detection of cases.
  
  
  
  Engaging Ebola virus disease survivors improved community compliance. Understanding the sociocultural context and community perceptions may improve community engagement and prevent Ebola virus transmission.
authors.affiliation: Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), World Health Organization (WHO), Conakry, BP 817, Guinea European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, (ECDC), Stockholm, 171 65, Sweden Public Health England (PHE), London, NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom Isidro.carrion@phe.gov.uk.
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Carrión Martín
authors.affiliation: Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), World Health Organization (WHO), Conakry, BP 817, Guinea European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, (ECDC), Stockholm,171 65, Sweden.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Derrough
authors.affiliation: Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), World Health Organization (WHO), Conakry, BP 817, Guinea.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Honomou
authors.affiliation: Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), World Health Organization (WHO), Conakry, BP 817, Guinea.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kolie
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Conakry, BP 817, Guinea.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Conakry, BP 817, Guinea.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koné
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Conakry, BP 817, Guinea.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rodier
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health of Guinea, Conakry, BP 585, Guinea.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kpoghomou
authors.affiliation: Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), World Health Organization (WHO), Conakry, BP 817, Guinea European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, (ECDC), Stockholm,171 65, Sweden.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jansà
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003256:Community Participation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017144:Focus Groups; D065928:Forests; D016701:Guinea / Q000453:epidemiology; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D019370:Observation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D066252:Sociological Factors
keywords: Anthropology; Community; Ebola virus disease; Guinea; Outbreak; Qualitative research