Uganda’s experience in Ebola virus disease outbreak preparedness, 2018–2019

Aceng, Jane Ruth; Ario, Alex Riolexus; Muruta, Allan; Makumbi, Issa; Nanyunja, Miriam; Komakech, Innocent; Bakainaga, Andrew; Talisuna, Ambrose; Mwesigye, Collins; Mpairwe, Allan; Tusiime, Jayne; Lali, William; Katushabe, Edson; Ocom, Felix; Kaggwa, Mugagga; Bodo, Bongomin; Kasule, Hafisa; Mwoga, Joseph Ngobi; Sensasi, Benjamin; Mwebembezi, Edmund; Katureebe, Charles; Sentumbwe, Olive; Nalwadda, Rita; Mbaka, Paul; Fatunmbi, Bayo; Nakiire, Lydia; Lamorde, Mohammed; Walwema, Richard; Kambugu, Andrew; Nanyondo, Judith; Okware, Solome; Ahabwe, Peter Babigumira; Nabukenya, Immaculate; Kayiwa, Joshua; Wetaka, Milton; Kyazze, Simon; Kwesiga, Benon; Kadobera, Daniel; Bulage, Lilian; Nanziri, Carol; Monje, Fred; Aliddeki, Dativa Maria; Ntono, Vivian; Gonahasa, Doreen; Nabatanzi, Sandra; Nsereko, Godfrey; Nakinsige, Anne; Mabumba, Eldard; Lubwama, Bernard; Sekamatte, Musa; Kibuule, Michael; Muwanguzi, David; Amone, Jackson; Upenytho, George D.; Driwale, Alfred; Seru, Morries; Sebisubi, Fred; Akello, Harriet; Kabanda, Richard; Mutengeki, David K.; Bakyaita, Tabley; Serwanjja, Vivian N.; Okwi, Richard; Okiria, Jude; Ainebyoona, Emmanuel; Opar, Bernard; Mimbe, Derrick; Kyabaggu, Denis; Ayebazibwe, Chrisostom; Sentumbwe, Juliet; Moses, Mwanja; Ndumu, Deo Birungi; Bwogi, Josephine; Balinandi, Stephen; Nyakarahuka, Luke; Tumusiime, Alex; Kyondo, Jackson; Mulei, Sophia; Lutwama, Julius J.; Kaleebu, Pontiano; Kagirita, Atek; Nabadda, Susan; Oumo, Peter; Lukwago, Robinah; Kasozi, Julius; Masylukov, Oleh; Kyobe, Henry Bosa; Berdaga, Viorica; Lwanga, Miriam; Opio, Joe C.; Matseketse, David; Eyul, James; Oteba, Martin Olowo; Bukirwa, Hasifa; Bulya, Nulu; Masiira, Ben; Kihembo, Christine; Ohuabunwo, Chima; Antara, Simon; Owembabazi, Wilberforce; Okot, Paul B.; Okwera, Josephine; Amoros, Isabelle; Kajja, Victoria; Mukunda, Basnet S.; Sorela, Isabel; Adams, Gregory; Shoemaker, Trevor; Klena, John D.; Taboy, Céline H.; Ward, Sarah; Merrill, Rebecca D.; Carter, Rosalind J.; Harris, Julie; Banage, Flora; Nsibambi, Thomas; Ojwang, Joseph; Kasule, Juliet N.; Stowell, Daniel; Brown, Vance; Zhu, Bao–Ping; Homsy, Jaco; Nelson, Lisa; Tusiime, Patrick; Olaro, Charles; Mwebesa, Henry; Woldemariam, Yonas Tegegn

doi:10.1186/s12992-020-00548-5

Cited by 81 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Of these 37 initiatives, 28 were for Ebola, with 25 relating to the 2014–2015 West Africa outbreak from Sierra Leone (n=11), Liberia (n=9), Guinea (n=2), Nigeria (n=1), Ghana (n=1) and one mixed-country study. The remaining three Ebola examples 41–43 were related to the 2018–2020 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two of which focused on efforts in Uganda. Five community engagement initiatives were used for Zika within the USA and Puerto Rico (n=3), and one each in Singapore and Uruguay.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community engagement for COVID-19 prevention and control: a rapid evidence synthesis

et al. 2020

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IntroductionCommunity engagement has been considered a fundamental component of past outbreaks, such as Ebola. However, there is concern over the lack of involvement of communities and ‘bottom-up’ approaches used within COVID-19 responses thus far. Identifying how community engagement approaches have been used in past epidemics may support more robust implementation within the COVID-19 response.MethodologyA rapid evidence review was conducted to identify how community engagement is used for infectious disease prevention and control during epidemics. Three databases were searched in addition to extensive snowballing for grey literature. Previous epidemics were limited to Ebola, Zika, SARS, Middle East respiratory syndromeand H1N1 since 2000. No restrictions were applied to study design or language.ResultsFrom 1112 references identified, 32 articles met our inclusion criteria, which detail 37 initiatives. Six main community engagement actors were identified: local leaders, community and faith-based organisations, community groups, health facility committees, individuals and key stakeholders. These worked on different functions: designing and planning, community entry and trust building, social and behaviour change communication, risk communication, surveillance and tracing, and logistics and administration.ConclusionCOVID-19’s global presence and social transmission pathways require social and community responses. This may be particularly important to reach marginalised populations and to support equity-informed responses. Aligning previous community engagement experience with current COVID-19 community-based strategy recommendations highlights how communities can play important and active roles in prevention and control. Countries worldwide are encouraged to assess existing community engagement structures and use community engagement approaches to support contextually specific, acceptable and appropriate COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community engagement for COVID-19 prevention and control: a rapid evidence synthesis

et al. 2020

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“…With the closure of the airport for commercial travel on March 21, 2020, the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection in Uganda has shifted to other points of entries, at land borders. Porous borders in particular pose a major risk in Uganda, as they did with Ebola [ 33 ]. Focusing of strict border security and screening interventions, including testing of all persons crossing the border, is critical to the continued protection of Uganda.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Uganda: epidemiology and lessons learned from risk-based testing approaches – March-April 2020

et al. 2020

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Background On March 13, 2020, Uganda instituted COVID-19 symptom screening at its international airport, isolation and SARS-CoV-2 testing for symptomatic persons, and mandatory 14-day quarantine and testing of persons traveling through or from high-risk countries. On March 21, 2020, Uganda reported its first SARS-CoV-2 infection in a symptomatic traveler from Dubai. By April 12, 2020, 54 cases and 1257 contacts were identified. We describe the epidemiological, clinical, and transmission characteristics of these cases. Methods A confirmed case was laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during March 21–April 12, 2020 in a resident of or traveler to Uganda. We reviewed case-person files and interviewed case-persons at isolation centers. We identified infected contacts from contact tracing records. Results Mean case-person age was 35 (±16) years; 34 (63%) were male. Forty-five (83%) had recently traveled internationally (‘imported cases’), five (9.3%) were known contacts of travelers, and four (7.4%) were community cases. Of the 45 imported cases, only one (2.2%) was symptomatic at entry. Among all case-persons, 29 (54%) were symptomatic at testing and five (9.3%) were pre-symptomatic. Among the 34 (63%) case-persons who were ever symptomatic, all had mild disease: 16 (47%) had fever, 13 (38%) reported headache, and 10 (29%) reported cough. Fifteen (28%) case-persons had underlying conditions, including three persons with HIV. An average of 31 contacts (range, 4–130) were identified per case-person. Five (10%) case-persons, all symptomatic, infected one contact each. Conclusion The first 54 case-persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Uganda primarily comprised incoming air travelers with asymptomatic or mild disease. Disease would likely not have been detected in these persons without the targeted testing interventions implemented in Uganda. Transmission was low among symptomatic persons and nonexistent from asymptomatic persons. Routine, systematic screening of travelers and at-risk persons, and thorough contact tracing will be needed for Uganda to maintain epidemic control.

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“…Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) is a severe and overwhelmingly fatal disease [30]; death rate is approximately 80% among those infected. It is caused by the EBOV, a member of the filovirus family and occurs in humans and other primates [31].…”

Section: Ebola Virus Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Entry of body fluids (e.g., saliva, vomit, sweat, urine, feces, semen, breast milk, blood, vaginal fluid, etc.) through broken skin or mucous membranes in the nose, mouth, or eyes can cause infections [30]. With other filoviruses, EBOVs can be transmitted from an animal reservoir or intermediate host to a primary human case in a single zoonotic spillover event.…”

Section: Ebola Virus Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Compared with Other Viral Diseases: Novelties, Progress, and Challenges

Wang

Alexander

2020

Electron J Gen Med

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COVID-19 is a newly discovered, highly infectious disease and has rapidly spread into at least 213 countries as a pandemic. This paper is a comprehensive review article of COVID-19 and four other viral diseases, including influenza, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Ebola virus disease (EVD). The cause of COVID-19 is the novel coronavirus-SARS-CoV-2. The transmission of COVID-19 is complex and rapid; therefore, it is difficult to control the spread of the disease. Certified specific antiviral drugs are slowly becoming available for COVID-19, although a few treatments such as Remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, dexamethasone, and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) have been found somewhat effective. Effective vaccines are still in the process of development and several countries, including the USA are conducting Phase 3 trials currently to fast-track the vaccines. All these issues have created significant challenges in reducing the morbidity and mortality of this global infectious disease. COVID-19 has led to vast impacts on public health and the global economy. With economic shutdowns, social distancing, increased handwashing, and sanitizing have been first line therapies for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and have created a new normal. COVID-19 is different from influenza and previous pandemic diseases, such as SARS, MERS, and EVD, but has some similarities to them. Influenza and these pandemic diseases are introduced in this paper as a comparison with COVID-19. The features of COVID-19, progress achieved in treatment, emerging technologies in testing and diagnosis, and current and future challenges are presented. Specifically, topics regarding COVID-19 in this paper cover basic facts, the questionable origin of COVID-19, testing and diagnosis, pharmaceutical treatment and comfort measures, strategies and management for fighting against COVID-19, and the emotional, psychological, and mental health impacts of shelter-in-place orders and quarantine of COVID-19.

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Uganda’s experience in Ebola virus disease outbreak preparedness, 2018–2019

Cited by 81 publications

References 2 publications

Community engagement for COVID-19 prevention and control: a rapid evidence synthesis

Community engagement for COVID-19 prevention and control: a rapid evidence synthesis

Early cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Uganda: epidemiology and lessons learned from risk-based testing approaches – March-April 2020

COVID-19 Compared with Other Viral Diseases: Novelties, Progress, and Challenges

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