title: Ebola Virus Disease, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2014.
abstract: During July-November 2014, the Democratic Republic of the Congo underwent its seventh Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak. The etiologic agent was Zaire Ebola virus; 66 cases were reported (overall case-fatality rate 74.2%). Through a retrospective observational study of confirmed EVD in 25 patients admitted to either of 2 Ebola treatment centers, we described clinical features and investigated correlates associated with death. Clinical features were mainly generic. At admission, 76% of patients had >1 gastrointestinal symptom and 28% >1 hemorrhagic symptom. The case-fatality rate in this group was 48% and was higher for female patients (67%). Cox regression analysis correlated death with initial low cycle threshold, indicating high viral load. Cycle threshold was a robust predictor of death, as were fever, hiccups, diarrhea, dyspnea, dehydration, disorientation, hematemesis, bloody feces during hospitalization, and anorexia in recent medical history. Differences from other outbreaks could suggest guidance for optimizing clinical management and disease control.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nanclares
authors.forename: Jimmy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kapetshi
authors.forename: Fanshen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lionetto
authors.forename: Olimpia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: de la Rosa
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques Muyembe
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Tamfun
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alia
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kobinger
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernasconi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ebola virus disease; PCR; disease outbreaks; polymerase chain reaction; viruses