Ebola Virus Infection Associated with Transmission from Survivors
Emerging Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.3201/eid2502.181011
- PMID
- 30500321
- PMCID
- PMC6346469
- OpenAlex
- W2902821328
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings underscore the continued importance of Ebola survivor services, sustained surveillance, and response capacity in regions previously affected by widespread transmission.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examines whether transmission of Ebola virus (EBOV) following the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak could be attributed to viral persistence in survivors, and characterizes the strength and route of evidence for such events.
Study design
A retrospective identification of possible viral persistence-derived transmission events (VPDTe) from the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak, applying predefined classification criteria to assess the strength of evidence for source, recipient, and route of transmission.
Population and setting
Survivors of Ebola virus disease and subsequent cases arising after the West Africa outbreak during 2014–2016, with geographic context spanning Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Main findings
Thirteen possible VPDTe events were identified. Eight had a recipient case identified, with a possible source case identified in five of these. Five events did not allow confident identification of a recipient or chain of transmission. Five events met criteria for sexual (male-to-female) transmission, and one VPDTe event produced at least four generations of cases, while transmission was limited after the other events.
Public-health relevance
The findings underscore the continued importance of Ebola survivor services, sustained surveillance, and response capacity in regions previously affected by widespread transmission.
Important limitations
No explicit limitations are stated in the abstract. This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
The article is discoverable through GIDS via classifiers linking it to hemorrhagic fever/Ebola, the affected West African countries, and topics including outbreak investigation, surveillance, and transmission dynamics, supporting retrieval in context-specific searches.
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 15 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.