Ebola is caused by infection with a virus of the family filoviridae, genus ebolavirus. Introduction current outbreak of ebola virus ebov in west africa can be described as most severe public health emergency in modern times 1. While small outbreaks occurred in other african countries, the outbreak in west africa was by far the largest, longest and most complex. Ebola spotlight emerging infectious diseases journal cdc. Introduction to ebola virus disease world health organization. Ebola virus disease in west africa as a case study ncbi nih. Ebola virus disease evd is a lifethreatening viral disease with a fatality rate ranging from around 30% to 90%. This case study aimed to establish a discussion about the operative and logistic. Evd is caused by infection with a virus of the family filoviridae, genus ebolavirus. Since the discovery of ebola virus in 1976 via traditional viral culture techniques and electron. Design of a randomized controlled trial for ebola virus. The plague that afflicted kikwit was ebola hemorrhagic fever, a viral disease for which there is no known treatment. Development context and health system capacity before the ebola crisis 3 2.
Ebola virus disease evd, one of the deadliest viral diseases, was discovered in 1976 when two consecutive outbreaks of fatal hemorrhagic fever occurred in different parts of central africa. Where a 10 percent mortality rate is considered high for most infectious. The rna viruses are particularly prone to emergence. Clinical case management guidelines of ebola virus disease. The guidance mentions her case without using her name. To quantify how violent events have fueled the outbreak, the study authors surveyed activity around the butembo coordination hub, which has been a. Today in eurosurveillance, experts describe the link between the insecurity events that have plagued the drc during this, the worlds secondlargest ebola outbreak, and transmissibility of the virus. Bats are the current subject of study as ebola virus is a close cousin of marburg virus. History of ebola virus disease error processing ssi file. Since the onset of the worst epidemic of ebola virus disease in december 20, 28,637 cases were reported as.
Introduction ebola virus disease earlier known as ebola hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. In a person with ehf, the virus is found in bodily fluids and may be on the skin, and the virus can be acquired through direct contact with the patient or their bodily fluids. In this brief the bioethics commission focuses on ethical challenges raised by the current ebola epidemic in western africa, with a particular focus on the u. On 15 june 2017, no new confirmed or probable cases were reported.
Bats are the current subject of study as ebola virus is a close cousin of marburg virus, which causes a similar disease in humans and is consistently found in a specific species of african fruit bat. Ebola case study national institute of environmental. Until 20, most outbreaks occurred in the central africa region, including zaire, sudan and uganda. Ebola virus disease evd, or simply ebola, is a viral haemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates caused by ebolaviruses. Ebola can cause disease in humans and nonhuman primates monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. Early supportive care with rehydration, symptomatic treatment improves survival. Transmission was centred in the four prefectures of. Pandenomics a case study on the ebola outbreak geneva. Ebola virus polymerase chain reaction testing on cerebral spinal fluid was negative. On 27 june 2018, all the people who were exposed to the last confirmed evd casepatient completed their mandatory 21day follow up without developing symptoms. The recent ebola outbreak in west africa presents a critical case study highlighting barriers to faster development.
The ebola virus disease evd outbreak in north kivu and ituri provinces has recently shown an increase in the number of cases reported by week, after many weeks of overall decline. Neurocognitive assessment was normal, but the patient reported ongoing fatigue. Severe meningoencephalitis in a case of ebola virus. Nevertheless, integration across biological scales is increasingly needed for solving the complex problems zoonotic diseases pose to human and animal wellbeing. Survivors meeting neurologic criteria were invited from a cohort of 361 evd survivors to attend a preliminary clinic. Ebola virus disease have been exhorted to put aside, tradition, culture and whatever family rites they have. A case of ebola virus page 2 of 3 september 2012 adam macneil it is possible for ebola viruses to be transmitted from one person to another person. In the week 14 to 21 june, 12 new confirmed cases were reported. Ebola case study niehs wtp alexander isakov, md, mph professor of emergency medicine emory university school of medicine kate moore, phd, dnp, fccm associate professor, clinical nell hodgson woodruff school of nursing sept 20, 2016. Ebola, previously known as ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the ebola virus strains. This case report presents evidence of sexual transmission of ebola virus from a man to a woman, nearly 200 days after the initial illness in the man. The ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if left untreated.
Zaire ebolavirus ebov, the virus responsible for the 2014 ebola outbreak in west africa, causes a deadly haemorrhagic disease in humans with case fatality rates ranging from 60%88%. Significant national and international delay in response to the epidemic resulted in 28,652 cases and 11,325 deaths. Motivated by current events, we use ebola virus as a case study to highlight fundamental questions about zoonoses that can be addressed by integrating insights and approaches across. We describe a case series of 35 ebola virus disease evd survivors during the epidemic in west africa who had neurologic and accompanying psychiatric sequelae. During the outbreak, clinical trials were implemented with unprecedented speed. Samples were taken from each of the five cases and sent for analysis at the institute national. Our conversation is based on his case study of an ebola virus outbreak in. The recent ebola epidemic in west africa, and the virus s spread to the u. Uganda, which appears in cdcs journal, emerging infectious. On 30 march 2014, liberia reported its first cases of ebola, followed by sierra leone on 25 may. As a science writer, it was hard not to notice that there was a tremendous amount of misinformation to be found at every corner. Ebola disease ebola disease is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. Assessing the socioeconomic impacts of ebola virus disease in guinea, liberia and sierra leone the road to recovery i contents foreword ii acknowledgment iv acronyms and abbreviations v executive summary vi part i. Yet, in most cases, this fasttracked approach proved too slow for the rapidly evolving epidemic.
Even starting from very low, the ebola affected countries showed good signs of progress on the public health related mdgs millenium. A risk analysis approach to prioritizing epidemics. Outbreak of ebola virus disease in the democratic republic. The first evd outbreak was reported in the 1970s in zaire now the democratic. Label and describe the functionrole of the following structures on the diagram of the viral particle below. Ebola virus disease in west africa as a case study wiley online.
Pdf an empirical analysis of the ebola outbreak in west africa. The average ebola case fatality rate is around 50%. Table 2 denise, kelli, ziba and wendy ebola virus case study microbiology professor sidelsky november 20 th 2018 1. Cdc has partnered with njala university in sierra leone to enhance surveillance for ebola in wildlife. Distribution of ebola virus disease cases by health zone in equateur province. Patient and case management for ebola virus disease. In her case, medical officials said she had meningitis related to her original ebola infection, and her cerebrospinal fluid tested positive for traces of the virus. The main focus is to screen various types of bats, particularly fruit bats, in the area for any signs of ebola virus.
Who issues ebola survivor guidance as cases show virus. Dept of health and human services explains risk communication. Signs and symptoms typically start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, sore throat, muscular pain, and headaches. On march 23, 2014, the world health organization who announced that an ebola virus outbreak that started in the republic of guinea in december 20 had spread to numerous west african countries. The first outbreak occurred in the democratic republic of congo formerly zaire in a village near the ebola river, which gave the virus its name. On 27 june 2018, all the people who were exposed to the last confirmed evd case patient completed their mandatory 21day follow up without developing symptoms. Ebola virus disease, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment. Ebola 221 days typically 310 with very low infectious dose. Rapid risk assessment outbreak of ebola virus disease in west africa, 12th update, 30 june 2015 3 guinea. Algorithm for initial assessment and management of patients for ebola virus disease tool, patient and case management26 sep 2014. Pdf the data for the ebola outbreak that occurred in 20142016 in three countries.
How to properly handle them therefore becomes an issue of interest for all stakeholders and individuals. Within a few weeks, about 400 people in kikwit had contracted the virus and 350 were dead. The first evd outbreak was reported in the 1970s in zaire now the democratic republic of the congo. Confirmation of cases required detection of ebola virus rna in blood or body fluids by reverse transcription pcr. It was the largest ebola epidemic in the history and the first to affect multiple countries simultaneously. Since the last situation update on june, 9 alerts have been reported and investigated of which two fulfilled the case definition as a suspected. In all, a great number of people died from ebola known as ebola virus disease evd. Final data sharing during west africa ebola public. The outbreak that occurred in march, 2014, caused worldwide, and intense media attention.
The whos ebola virus disease outbreak response plan. Clinical case management guidelines of ebola virus disease evd 1. Laboratory diagnosis of ebola virus disease plays a critical role in outbreak response efforts. The 2014 ebola virus disease evd outbreak affected several countries worldwide, including six west african countries. The ministry of health and who continue to closely monitor the outbreak of ebola virus disease evd in the democratic republic of the congo. Farranging local and international resources were mobilized, eventually containing the epidemic, though at high cost. The number of potential cases ranges from thousands to millions with mortality rate up to 74% 2.
Although wellknown for its lethality, ebola severity is variable at the individual level. Case series of severe neurologic sequelae of ebola virus. Use of ppe for safe first assessment of pui of evd in eueea technical guidance, tutorial19 dec 2014. As of 10 april 2019, 1206 confirmed and probable cases of ebola virus disease have been reported during this outbreak in the democratic republic of the congo drc.