Resources following Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Photo credit: CDC/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARYLast updated: 4 July 2019
The outbreak of the Ebola-virus epidemic is a human catastrophe, taking place in some of the world’s poorest countries. Evidence Aid is working with partners to compile evidence-based resources that might help with the response and improve communication and information provision. You can read more about the need to avoid inaccurate and contradictory information here. Our resources will be updated as the situation changes and have been divided into a number of main categories.
Introduction (Reviews and resources are listed below this text)
The Ebola Outbreak in West Africa 2013-2016 was a unique and extraordinary event in the modern history of public health and international affair. A total of 28,610 people were known to have been infected with Ebola, of whom 11,308 died, although in reality the actual numbers are likely to be significantly higher, since many cases went unreported. Communities, particularly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, were devastated by the disease, as well as from secondary impacts on health care, education, and the economy. The disease also spread into five other countries – the USA, the UK, Spain, Mali and Nigeria – with cases treated in many others.
Ebola Virus Disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever that was first identified in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 2014, a total of twenty-four outbreaks had been recorded, but these had been confined to a limited geographic region in East and Central Africa. The deadliest of these had been the 1976 one, in which 280 people died – 88% of those infected – although six of the other outbreaks had killed fewer than ten people or none at all.[i] Outbreaks of EVD continue to sporadically occur, including a significant outbreak in the northern part of the DRC in 2018 that led to at least 66 cases and saw transmission within the city of Mbandaka, with a population of over 1 million inhabitants, showing that EVD continues to post a major public health threat.
Prior to the West Africa outbreak, little was known about EVD and the best approaches to its treatment or control. A critical lesson was that the range of issues and academic disciplines that underpin the causes of these outbreaks and the enablers of an effective response is much broader than just biomedical science. A technical understanding of virus transmission and effective laboratory diagnosis and clinical care are essential, but so too are an understanding of field epidemiology, anthropology, public communication and health policy. These proved essential for winning public trust in the response and developing strategies to maintain essential public services in a health crisis.
From the biomedical perspective, there was a significant research response on trials of novel therapeutic agents. Many of these were implemented at a late period in the outbreak, when cases numbers were dwindling and the likelihood of recruiting enough patients to reach a primary endpoint diminished. As such there remains uncertainty about the likely effectiveness of many novel drugs and compounds trialed – the monoclonal antibody complex ZMappTM and the antiviral agent Favipriravir show some promise, and the small interfering RNA molecule TKM-Ebola was shown to be ineffective. Innovative methods of vaccine delivery were a clear success, with a ring-fence vaccination trial of a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus–Zaire Ebola virus vaccine proving highly successful at preventing EVD in both close contacts of EVD cases, and their wider communities. This involved a multinational collaboration between academia, non-governmental organizations, and national and international agencies, and involved distributing the vaccine among new communities affected by disease rather than pre-determining where it would be delivered.
There was significant progress on laboratory diagnostics, both in the widespread use of molecular techniques such as real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the more limited trials of near patient rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). More field validation of the later is required, along with the overcoming the commercial challenges of making them available to those in need in future outbreaks. There has also been greater clarity on clinical presentation, and the factors that affect mortality.
Reductions in healthcare utilisation, alongside the increased mortality from other infectious diseases, maternal complications, and lack of general medical and surgical care have been detailed. Community engagement, the use of traditional communications and social media in spreading preventative messaging, and novel methods of disease surveillance have been well documented.
However, despite the unprecedented numbers of patients treated in West Africa in 2013-2016, many important research questions remain, from the most basic clinical questions such as routine use of broad spectrum antimicrobial agents and anti-malarials, whether to use anti-diarrhoeal agents to stop electrolyte losses, or which corrective intravenous fluids bets replace bodily losses, to the more complex challenges of the best delivery of a multi-faceted public health response.
Future responses to EVD and other diseases must learn from the lessons and evidence that have been collected, which is set out in this collection, as well as identifying the unmet challenges that need to be urgently addressed. Only through evidence to action can future EVD, and other emerging infection outbreaks, be best combated.
Authors: Dr Oliver Johnson, Visiting Lecturer, King’s Centre for Global Health & Health Partnerships, School of Population Health & Environmental Sciences, King’s College London; Dr Colin Brown, Department of Infection, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK *and* National Infection Service, PHE Colindale, Public Health England, London, UK.
[i] Centers for Disease Control (n.d.) Outbreaks Chronology: Ebola Virus Disease [online]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/history/chronology.html (Accessed 24 August 2017).
Systematic reviews and resources
If you would like to use an appraisal framework when considering the relevance and quality of the full reviews that Evidence Aid links to, a few useful tools are: AMSTAR, CASP and ROBIS. Guidance is also available on reporting reviews: PRISMA.
Summaries of all systematic reviews, listed below, are also available in French [FR] and Spanish [ES].
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Brainard J., Hooper L., Pond K. et al. Risk factors for transmission of Ebola or Marburg virus disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology 2016:45(1);102-16. [FR] [ES]
Dean N.E., Halloran M.E., Yang Y. et al. Transmissibility and pathogenicity of Ebola virus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of household secondary attack rate and asymptomatic infection. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2016;62(10):1277-86. [FR] [ES]
Nyakarahuka L., Kankya C., Krontveit R et al. How severe and prevalent are Ebola and Marburg viruses? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the case fatality rates and seroprevalence. BMC Infectious Disease. 2016;16(1). doi:10.1186/s12879-016-2045-6 [FR] [ES]
Saurabh S., & Prateek S. Role of contact tracing in containing the 2014 Ebola outbreak: a review. African Health Sciences. 2017:17(1);225. [FR] [ES]
Van Kerkhove M.D., Bento A.I., Mills H.L et al. A review of epidemiological parameters from Ebola outbreaks to inform early public health decision-making. Scientific Data 2014;2:150019. [FR] [ES]
Velasquez G.E., Aibana O., Ling E.J. et al. Time from infection to disease and infectiousness for Ebola Virus Disease, a systematic review. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2015;61(7):1135-40. [FR] [ES]
Zapata J.C., Cox D. and Salvato M.S. The role of platelets in the pathogenesis of viral hemorrhagic fevers. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2014;8(6):e2858. [FR] [ES]
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[toggle title_open=”Healthcare workers and Ebola” title_closed=”Healthcare workers and Ebola”]
Ercole F.F., Campos C.C. and Alcoforado, C.L.G.C. Recommendations for prevention and control for the care of patients with Ebola in health institutions. Rev Min Enferm 2014;999-1005. [FR] [ES]
Kangoy A.K., Muloya G.M., Avevor P.M. et al. Review of past and present outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo 1976-2014. African Journal of Infectious Diseases 2016:10(1);38-42. [FR] [ES]
Missair A., Marino M.J., Vu C., et al. Anesthetic implications of Ebola patient management: a review of the literature and policies Anesthesia-Analgesia 2015;121(3):810. [FR] [ES]
Petti S., Messano G.A., Vingolo E.M., et al. The face Ebola: Changing frequency of haemorrhage in the West African compared with Eastern Central African outbreaks. BMC Infectious Diseases, 2015;15(1):564. [FR] [ES]
Sepkowitz K.A. Occupationally acquired infections in health care workers: Part II. Annals of Internal Medicine 1996;125(11):917-28. [FR] [ES]
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[toggle title_open=”Health systems and outbreak management/surveillance” title_closed=”Health systems and outbreak management/surveillance”]
Brolin Risbacke K.J., Saulnier D.D., Eriksson A. and von Schreeb J. Effects of the West African Ebola virus disease on health-care utilization: a systematic review. Frontiers in Public Health 2016:4;222. [FR] [ES]
Gianfredi V., Bragazzi N. L., Nucci D., et al. (2018). Harnessing Big Data for communicable tropical and sub-tropical disorders: implications from a systematic review of the literature. Frontiers in Public Health, 2018:6;90. [FR] [ES]
Hopman J. et al. Efficacy of chlorine solutions used for hand hygiene and gloves disinfection in Ebola settings: A systematic review. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control, 2015;4(Suppl 1):O13. [FR] [ES]
Kangoy A.K., Muloya G.M., Avevor P.M. et al. Review of past and present outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo 1976-2014. African Journal of Infectious Diseases 2016:10(1);38-42. [FR] [ES]
Kubilay Z. et al. Side effects of chlorine solutions used for hand hygiene: A systematic review. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control 2015;4(Suppl 2):9. [FR] [ES]
Leitmeyer K. European risk assessment guidance for infectious diseases transmitted on aircraft – the RAGIDA project Euro Surveill 2011;16(16):1-5. [FR] [ES]
Masterson S.G., Lobel L., Carroll M.W., et al. Herd immunity to ebola viruses is not a realistic target for current vaccination strategies. Frontiers in Immunology, 2018;9:1025. [FR] [ES]
Moore G. Elevating the importance of cold chain integrity in global health policy, disease reduction and health care cost management. Annals of Global Health 2015;81(1):78-9. [FR] [ES]
Shoman H., Karafillakis E., & Rawaf S. The link between the West African Ebola outbreak and health systems in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone: a systematic review. Globalization and Health, 2017;13(1)1-22. [FR] [ES]
Tom-Aba D., Nguku P., Arinze C., et al. Designs and concepts of 42 different mobile phone applications for the management of the West African Ebola Outbreak 2014/15- results of a systematic literature review. Health- exploring complexity: an interdisciplinary systems approach. HEC2016, 2016;31(s1):211. [FR] [ES]
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[toggle title_open=”Patient management” title_closed=”Patient management”]
Chippaux J-P., Boyer L.P and Alagon A. Post-exposure treatment of Ebola virus using passive immunotherapy: proposal for a new strategy. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2015:21(3). [FR] [ES]
Kangoy A.K., Muloya G.M., Avevor P.M. et al. Review of past and present outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo 1976-2014. African Journal of Infectious Diseases 2016:10(1);38-42. [FR] [ES]
Ker K. et al. Comparison of routes for achieving parenteral access with a focus on the management of patients with Ebola virus disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015;Issue 2:CD011386. [FR] [ES]
Lötsch F., Schnyder J., Goorhuis A., et al. Neuropsychological long-term sequelae of Ebola virus disease survivors–A systematic review. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2017;18:18-23. [FR] [ES]
Martinez M.J. et al. Ebola Virus Infection: overview and update on prevention and treatment. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control 2015;4(Suppl 2):9. [FR] [ES]
Moole H., Chitta S., Victor D. et al. Association of clinical signs and symptoms of Ebola viral disease with case fatality: a systematic review and met-analysis. Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 2015;5(4):28406. [FR] [ES]
Schuler J., Hudson M., Schwartz, D., et al. A systematic review of computational drug discovery, development, and repurposing for Ebola Virus Disease treatment. Molecules, 2017:22(10);1777. [FR] [ES]
Sweiti H., Ekwunife O., Jaschinski T. et al. Repurposed Therapeutic Agents Targeting the Ebola Virus: A Systematic Review. Current Therapeutic Research 2017;84:10-21. [FR] [ES]
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[toggle title_open=”Persistance and seroprevalence studies” title_closed=”Persistance and seroprevalence studies”]
Bower H., & Glynn J. A systematic review and meta-analysis of seroprevalence surveys of Ebola Virus infection. Scientific Data, 2017;4:160133. doi: 10.1038/sdata.2016.133. [FR] [ES]
Brainard J., Pond K., Hooper L. et al. Presence and persistence of Ebola or Marburg virus disease in patients and survivors: a rapid systematic review. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2016:10(2);e000475. [FR] [ES]
Chughtai A.A., Barnes M. and Macintyre C.R. Persistence of Ebola virus in various body fluids during convalescence: evidence and implications for disease transmission and control. Epidemiology & Infection 2016;144:1652-60. [FR] [ES]
Thorson A, Formenty P, Lofthouse C, Broutet N. Systematic review of the literature on viral persistence and sexual transmission from recovered Ebola survivors: evidence and recommendations. BMJ Open. 2016;6(1):e008859. [FR] [ES]
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[toggle title_open=”Pregnancy and Ebola” title_closed=”Pregnancy and Ebola”]
Money, D. SOGC Committee opinion on the management of a pregnant woman exposed to or infected with Ebola virus disease in Canada. Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology Canada. 2015;37(2):182-9. [FR] [ES]
Nelson J., Griese S., Goodman A. et al. Live neonates born to mothers with Ebola virus disease: a review of the literature. Journal of Perinatology. 2015:36(6);411-4. [FR] [ES]
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[toggle title_open=”Research in Ebola settings” title_closed=”Research in Ebola settings”]
Richardson T., Johnston AM., Draper H. A Systematic Review of Ebola Treatment Trials to Assess the Extent to Which They Adhere to Ethical Guidelines. PLoS One. 2017;12(1):e0168975. Published 2017 Jan 17. [FR] [ES]
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