Ebola viral load at diagnosis associates with patient outcome and outbreak evolution.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ebola virus (EBOV) causes periodic outbreaks of life-threatening EBOV disease in Africa. Historically, these outbreaks have been relatively small and geographically contained; however, the magnitude of the EBOV outbreak that began in 2014 in West Africa has been unprecedented. The aim of this study was to describe the viral kinetics of EBOV during this outbreak and identify factors that contribute to outbreak progression.

Methods

From July to December 2014, one laboratory in Sierra Leone processed over 2,700 patient samples for EBOV detection by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Viremia was measured following patient admission. Age, sex, and approximate time of symptom onset were also recorded for each patient. The data was analyzed using various mathematical models to fin

SUBMITTER: de La Vega MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4665775 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature