title: Diagnosis and management of Ebola samples in the laboratory.
abstract: The magnitude of the 2014-2016 West African Ebola virus outbreak has highlighted the importance of immediate and rapid deployment of control measures in affected areas. While many prophylactic and therapeutic options entered clinical trials in the past two years, larger use to impact on Ebola spread will not be possible until at least one product meets final approval by regulatory agencies. Control of the West African outbreak was achieved almost entirely by breaking chain of transmissions through case identification and specialized treatment, communication, safe burials and other proven methods. To achieve this in a timely manner, epidemiologists and medical teams are working in concert with laboratories to identify infected individuals and provide care within Ebola treatment units. Herein, we review an outbreak response workflow from the point of view of mobile laboratories and summarize methods that have been used by them during the West African Ebola virus outbreak of 2014-2016.
authors.affiliation: a Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory , Public Health Agency of Canada , Winnipeg , Canada.|b Department of Immunology , University of Manitoba , Winnipeg , Canada.
authors.forename: Marc-Antoine
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de La Vega
authors.affiliation: a Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory , Public Health Agency of Canada , Winnipeg , Canada.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bello
authors.affiliation: c Laboratory services , Médecins Sans Frontières , Brussels , Belgium.
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chaillet
authors.affiliation: a Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory , Public Health Agency of Canada , Winnipeg , Canada.|b Department of Immunology , University of Manitoba , Winnipeg , Canada.|d Department of Medical Microbiology , University of Manitoba , Winnipeg , Canada.|e Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine , University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine , Philadelphia , PA , USA.
authors.forename: Gary P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Kobinger
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D064790:Clinical Laboratory Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008952:Mobile Health Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000067393:Personal Protective Equipment; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D057188:Workflow; D014944:World Health Organization
keywords: Ebola virus; diagnosis; laboratory; outbreak; point-of-care testing; sample management