Epidemiology of Epidemic Ebola Virus Disease in Conakry and Surrounding Prefectures, Guinea, 2014–2015

Rico, Adriana; Brody, Debra J.; Coronado, Fátima; Rondy, Marc; Fiebig, Lena; Carcelen, Andrea C.; Deyde, Varough; Mesfin, Samuel; Retzer, Kyla; Bilivogui, Pépé; Кейта, Сакоба; Dahl, Benjamin A.

doi:10.3201/eid2202.151304

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Our study, thus, corroborated the findings by Ansumana et al ( 14 ), who reported that about 20% of individuals who died of EVD at the Ebola Treatment Center at Hastings Police Station in WA, died soon on arrival, meaning they presented for treatment late in the disease. Similar features characterized the outbreaks in the urban settings of Conakry, Guinea and Montserrado County of Liberia that experienced intense and prolonged transmission of EVD during this West African outbreak of Ebola ( 15 , 16 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Epidemiology of Ebola Virus Disease in the Western Area Region of Sierra Leone, 2014–2015

Lamunu¹,

Olu

Bangura³

et al. 2017

Front. Public Health

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IntroductionWestern Area (WA) of Sierra Leone including the capital, Freetown, experienced an unprecedented outbreak of Ebola from 2014 to 2015. At the onset of the epidemic, there was little information about the epidemiology, transmission dynamics, and risk factors in urban settings as previous outbreaks were limited to rural/semi-rural settings. This study, therefore, aimed to describe the epidemiology of the outbreak and the factors which had most impact on the transmission of the epidemic and whether there were different drivers from those previously described in rural settings.MethodsWe conducted a descriptive epidemiology study in WA, Sierra Leone using secondary data from the National Ebola outbreak database. We also reviewed the Ebola situation reports, response strategy documents, and other useful documents.ResultsA total of 4,955 Ebola cases were identified between June 2014 and November 2015, although there were reports of cases occurring in WA toward end of May. All wards were affected, and Waterloo Area I (Ward 330), the capital city of Western Area Rural District, recorded the highest numbers of cases (580) and deaths (236). Majority of cases (63.4%) and deaths (66.8%) were in WA Urban District (WAU); 44 cases were imported from other provinces. Only 20% of cases had a history of contact with an Ebola case, and more than 30% were death alerts. Equal numbers of males and females were infected, and very few cases (3.2%) were health workers. Overall, transmission was through contact with infected individuals, and intense transmission occurred at the community level. In WAU, transmission was mostly between neighbors and among inhabitants of shared accommodations. The drivers of transmission included high population movement to and from WA, overcrowding, fear and lack of trust in the response, and negative community behaviors. Transmission was mostly through contact and with limited transmission through sex and breast milk.ConclusionThe unprecedented outbreak in WA was attributed to delayed detection, inadequate preparedness and response, intense population movements, overcrowding, and unresponsive communities. Anticipation, strengthening preparedness for early detection, and swift and effective response remains critical in mitigating a potential urban explosion of similar future outbreaks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Epidemiology of Ebola Virus Disease in the Western Area Region of Sierra Leone, 2014–2015

Lamunu¹,

Olu

Bangura³

et al. 2017

Front. Public Health

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“…The World Health Organization reported 199 Ebola infections among the country’s Ebola frontline responders, among whom 55% died [10]. The study site was Conakry, the capital and largest city in Guinea and one of the Ebola epicenters [27].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What motivates individuals to volunteer in Ebola epidemic response? A structural approach in Guinea

Dounamou¹,

Sorum

Mullet

2019

Hum Resour Health

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Background: The 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa placed greater demands on the affected countries' already scarce health workforce. Consequently, governments in the most affected West African countries made appeals for volunteers to join Ebola response programs. Those volunteers played an important yet high-risk role in aiding the victims of the Ebola epidemic and in limiting its spread. However, little is known as to what motivated those volunteers to commit themselves to the Ebola response programs. This information is important for planning for volunteer recruitment strategies during future epidemics. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to identify and assess the motivations that led individuals to volunteer for Ebola response programs in West Africa. Methods: The study participants were 600 persons who volunteered through the Guinean Ebola response program during the 2014-2016 epidemic. From February to May 2016, they were presented with a questionnaire that contained 50 assertions referring to possible motives for volunteering in the Ebola response program and indicated their degree of agreement with each of them on a scale of 0-10. The responses were analyzed using factor analysis. Results: Seven separable volunteer motivations were identified. "Feeling of patriotic duty" (M = 9.02) and "Feeling of moral responsibility" (M = 8.12) clearly emerged as the most important. Second-tier motivations were "Compliance with authority" (M = 6.66), "Desire to use one's skills for a collective good" (M = 6.49), "Seeking personal growth" (M = 5.93), "Desire to gain community recognition" (M = 5.13), and "Hoping for a career reorientation" (M = 4.52). Conclusions: These findings strongly suggest that volunteer recruitment, if needed in future Ebola epidemics, must adopt a multifaceted motivational approach rather than focus on one single motivator. Putting relatively more emphasis on motivational messages referring to patriotic values, as well as to moral responsibility, would likely increase volunteering.

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“…Multiple case definitions were used during the West Africa EVD epidemic, as exemplified by EVD surveillance in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, which each used variations of the suspected case definition ( 9 , 11 – 14 ). A commonly used suspected case definition used in Guinea was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) ( 15 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Sensitivity and Specificity of Suspected Case Definition Used during West Africa Ebola Epidemic

Hsu¹,

Champaloux²,

Кейта³

et al. 2018

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

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Rapid early detection and control of Ebola virus disease (EVD) is contingent on accurate case definitions. Using an epidemic surveillance dataset from Guinea, we analyzed an EVD case definition developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and used in Guinea. We used the surveillance dataset (March–October 2014; n = 2,847 persons) to identify patients who satisfied or did not satisfy case definition criteria. Laboratory confirmation determined cases from noncases, and we calculated sensitivity, specificity and predictive values. The sensitivity of the defintion was 68.9%, and the specificity of the definition was 49.6%. The presence of epidemiologic risk factors (i.e., recent contact with a known or suspected EVD case-patient) had the highest sensitivity (74.7%), and unexplained deaths had the highest specificity (92.8%). Results for case definition analyses were statistically significant (p<0.05 by χ2 test). Multiple components of the EVD case definition used in Guinea contributed to improved overall sensitivity and specificity.

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Epidemiology of Epidemic Ebola Virus Disease in Conakry and Surrounding Prefectures, Guinea, 2014–2015

Abstract: The capital and neighboring areas remain a focal point of transmission, requiring continued public health vigilance.

Cited by 14 publications

References 6 publications

Epidemiology of Ebola Virus Disease in the Western Area Region of Sierra Leone, 2014–2015

Epidemiology of Ebola Virus Disease in the Western Area Region of Sierra Leone, 2014–2015

What motivates individuals to volunteer in Ebola epidemic response? A structural approach in Guinea

Sensitivity and Specificity of Suspected Case Definition Used during West Africa Ebola Epidemic

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