title: Assessment of Community Event-Based Surveillance for Ebola Virus Disease, Sierra Leone, 2015.
abstract: In 2015, community event-based surveillance (CEBS) was implemented in Sierra Leone to assist with the detection of Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases. We assessed the sensitivity of CEBS for finding EVD cases during a 7-month period, and in a 6-week subanalysis, we assessed the timeliness of reporting cases with no known epidemiologic links at time of detection. Of the 12,126 CEBS reports, 287 (2%) met the suspected case definition, and 16 were confirmed positive. CEBS detected 30% (16/53) of the EVD cases identified during the study period. During the subanalysis, CEBS staff identified 4 of 6 cases with no epidemiologic links. These CEBS-detected cases were identified more rapidly than those detected by the national surveillance system; however, too few cases were detected to determine system timeliness. Although CEBS detected EVD cases, it largely generated false alerts. Future versions of community-based surveillance could improve case detection through increased staff training and community engagement.
authors.forename: Ruwan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ratnayake
authors.forename: Samuel J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Crowe
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jasperse
authors.forename: Grayson
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Privette
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hertz
authors.forename: Clementine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Maenner
authors.forename: Amara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jambai
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012807:Sierra Leone / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Ebola virus; Ebola virus disease; Sierra Leone; West Africa; community; community event–based surveillance; detection; epidemic; epidemiologic link; epidemiology; event triggers; surveillance; transmission; viruses