Re-analysing Ebola spread in Sierra Leone: The importance of local social dynamics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The 2013-15 Ebola epidemic in West Africa was the largest so far recorded, and mainly affected three adjacent countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The worst affected country (in terms of confirmed cases) was Sierra Leone. The present paper looks at the epidemic in Sierra Leone. The epidemic in this country was a concatenation of local outbreaks. These local outbreaks are not well characterized through analysis using standard numerical techniques. In part, this reflects difficulties in record collection at the height of the epidemic. This paper offers a different approach, based on application of field-based techniques of social investigation that provide a richer understanding of the epidemic.

Methods

In a post-epidemic study (2016-18) of two districts (Bo

SUBMITTER: Richards P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7644078 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature