1. An Outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in the Lassa Fever Zone
- Author
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Rachael E. Yenni, Augustine Goba, Stephanie J. McCormick, Erica Ollmann Saphire, Brima Kargbo, John Demby Sandi, Jeffrey G. Shaffer, Robert F. Garry, Susan McLellan, Julie A. Rouelle, Edwin Konowu, Sonia Grillo, Issa French, Benjamin T. Bradley, Ibraham Mustapha, S. Humarr Khan, Vandi Sinnah, Shevin T. Jacob, Russell B. Wilson, Veronica J. Koroma, Josephine Sellu, Christian T. Happi, Momoh Foday, Helena McCarthy, Kelly R. Pitts, Peter C. Kulakosky, Jessica N. Hartnett, Mohamed Yillah, Nathan L. Yozwiak, Daniel J. Park, James E. Robinson, Christopher M. Bishop, Donald S. Grant, Siddiki Safai, Sylvia O. Blyden, James L. B. Massaly, Alex Moigboi, Matthew L. Boisen, Tiangay Kallon, Sahr M. Gevao, Joan B. Geisbert, Ian Crozier, Thomas W. Geisbert, Mustupha Kallon, Chandrika B. Kannadka, Ashley A. Reyna, Hawa Rogers, Haini Yu, Mbalu Fonnie, Mohamed Fullah, Courtney E Garry, Lansana Kanneh, John S. Schieffelin, Alice Kovoma, Allyson M. Haislip, Lilia I. Melnik, Luis M. Branco, David Kargbo, Pardis C. Sabeti, Jing He, Kristian G. Andersen, Fatima K. Kamara, Michael Gbakie, Mambu Momoh, Mohamed A. Vandi, Stephen K. Gire, Deborah H. Elliott, Franklyn Kanneh, Simbirie Jalloh, Ridhi Tariyal, Nancy Yoko, Kathryn M. Hastie, William R. Gallaher, Lee A. Henderson, Robert W. Cross, Brian M. Sullivan, Momoh Gbetuwa, Scott Oman, Donna Edwards, Jenneh Naiebu, Abdul A. Jalloh, Danny Asogun, Michael B. A. Oldstone, and William C. Wimley
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,0301 basic medicine ,Adolescent ,viruses ,Genome, Viral ,medicine.disease_cause ,Disease Outbreaks ,Sierra Leone ,Sierra leone ,Viral hemorrhagic fever ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,Lassa Fever ,0302 clinical medicine ,Humans ,Immunology and Allergy ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Child ,Lassa virus ,Lassa fever ,Ebolavirus ,Ebola Outbreak in West Africa ,Ebola virus ,business.industry ,Transmission (medicine) ,Outbreak ,Genomics ,Sequence Analysis, DNA ,Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Virology ,Africa, Western ,030104 developmental biology ,Infectious Diseases ,Child, Preschool ,Epidemiological Monitoring ,Female ,Guinea ,Medical emergency ,business - Abstract
Background.Kenema Government Hospital (KGH) has developed an advanced clinical and laboratory research capacity to manage the threat of Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF). The 2013–2016 Ebola virus (EBOV) disease (EVD) outbreak is the first to have occurred in an area close to a facility with established clinical and laboratory capacity for study of VHFs. Methods.Because of its proximity to the epicenter of the EVD outbreak, which began in Guinea in March 2014, the KGH Lassa fever Team mobilized to establish EBOV surveillance and diagnostic capabilities. Results.Augustine Goba, director of the KGH Lassa laboratory, diagnosed the first documented case of EVD in Sierra Leone, on 25 May 2014. Thereafter, KGH received and cared for numbers of patients with EVD that quickly overwhelmed the capacity for safe management. Numerous healthcare workers contracted and lost their lives to EVD. The vast majority of subsequent EVD cases in West Africa can be traced back to a single transmission chain that includes this first diagnosed case. Conclusions.Responding to the challenges of confronting 2 hemorrhagic fever viruses will require continued investments in the development of countermeasures (vaccines, therapeutic agents, and diagnostic assays), infrastructure, and human resources.
- Published
- 2016
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