Late Ebola virus relapse causing meningoencephalitis: a case report
The Lancet·
- DOI
- 10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30386-5
- PMID
- 27209148
- PMCID
- PMC4967715
- OpenAlex
- W2399907638
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
This report documents the first described case of late, severe Ebola relapse in the central nervous system, suggesting the need for ongoing vigilance among thousands of Ebola survivors for relapsed infection, with consideration of transmission potential.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
Whether late viral relapse of Ebola virus can cause severe, potentially transmissible disease in survivors who previously cleared peripheral blood infection.
Study design
Case report describing a single patient readmitted 9 months after initial Ebola disease, with detailed clinical monitoring and genomic sequencing of matched plasma and cerebrospinal fluid samples.
Population and setting
A 39-year-old female nurse from Scotland who had worked in Sierra Leone during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and received treatment for severe Ebola virus disease with high initial viral load.
Main findings
The patient was readmitted 9 months post-discharge with Ebola virus detected in cerebrospinal fluid at higher levels than plasma, with infectious virus recovered only from CSF. She developed progressive meningoencephalitis. Genome sequencing showed only two non-coding changes compared to the initial infecting virus. Treatment with GS-5734 combined with corticosteroids was associated with clinical recovery and undetectable CSF viral RNA after 14 days.
Public-health relevance
This report documents the first described case of late, severe Ebola relapse in the central nervous system, suggesting the need for ongoing vigilance among thousands of Ebola survivors for relapsed infection, with consideration of transmission potential.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. Decision-grade interpretation requires access to the original paper, including full clinical details, laboratory methods, and complete follow-up data.
GIDS interpretation
This single documented case of Ebola relapse in a survivor is presented as a novel clinical observation that the authors state redefines understanding of Ebola natural history, with implications for survivor monitoring protocols.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.