title: Reduced Risk of Importing Ebola Virus Disease because of Travel Restrictions in 2014: A Retrospective Epidemiological Modeling Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) from 2013-16 posed a serious risk of global spread during its early growth phase. A post-epidemic evaluation of the effectiveness of travel restrictions has yet to be conducted. The present study aimed to estimate the effectiveness of travel restrictions in reducing the risk of importation from mid-August to September, 2014, using a simple hazard-based statistical model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The hazard rate was modeled as an inverse function of the effective distance, an excellent predictor of disease spread, which was calculated from the airline transportation network. By analyzing datasets of the date of EVD case importation from the 15th of July to the 15th of September 2014, and assuming that the network structure changed from the 8th of August 2014 because of travel restrictions, parameters that characterized the hazard rate were estimated. The absolute risk reduction and relative risk reductions due to travel restrictions were estimated to be less than 1% and about 20%, respectively, for all models tested. Effectiveness estimates among African countries were greater than those for other countries outside Africa.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The travel restrictions were not effective enough to expect the prevention of global spread of Ebola virus disease. It is more efficient to control the spread of disease locally during an early phase of an epidemic than to attempt to control the epidemic at international borders. Capacity building for local containment and coordinated and expedited international cooperation are essential to reduce the risk of global transmission.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.|CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Shiori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otsuki
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.|CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama, Japan.|Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0941-8537
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishiura