Analyzing The Ebola ViruAnalyzing The Impact That The Ebola Virus Disease Has on Children

Sierra Leone is the most severely affected country by an unprecedented outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa. Although successfully contained, the transmission dynamics of EVD and the impact of interventions in the country remain unclear. We established a database of confirmed and suspected EVD cases from May 2014 to September 2015 in Sierra Leone and mapped the spatiotemporal distribution of cases at the chiefdom level. A Poisson transmission model revealed that the transmissibility at the chiefdom level, estimated as the average number of secondary infections caused by a patient per week, was reduced by 43% [95% confidence interval (CI): 30%, 52%] after October 2014, when the strategic plan of the United Nations Mission for Emergency Ebola Response was initiated, and by 65% (95% CI: 57%, 71%) after the end of December 2014, when 100% case isolation and safe burials were essentially achieved, both compared with before October 2014. Population density, proximity to Ebola treatment centers, cropland coverage, and atmospheric temperature were associated with EVD transmission. The household secondary attack rate (SAR) was estimated to be 0.059 (95% CI: 0.050, 0.070) for the overall outbreak. The household SAR was reduced by 82%, from 0.093 to 0.017, after the nationwide campaign to achieve 100% case isolation and safe burials had been conducted. This study provides a complete overview of the transmission dynamics of the 2014−2015 EVD outbreak in Sierra Leone at both chiefdom and household levels. The interventions implemented in Sierra Leone seem effective in containing the epidemic, particularly in interrupting household transmission.

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A Process Description of Playing to Live! A Community Psychosocial Arts Program During Ebola

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences ◽

10.5590/jsbhs.2017.11.1.12 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

C. Alexis Decosimo ◽

Jessi E Hanson ◽

Catherine Reilly Boland ◽

Deborah Slawson ◽

Mary Ann Littleton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Ebola Virus ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Current Theory ◽

Expressive Arts ◽

Ebola Virus Disease ◽

Expressive Arts Therapy ◽

Activity Data ◽

Community Program ◽

The Impact

From 2014 to 2015, Liberia experienced the largest Ebola epidemic in world history. The impact of this disease was not only physical; it created fear, loss, and trauma throughout the country. This article will describe the process of three phases of a community-based psychosocial expressive arts program, which used theory from the fields of expressive arts therapy to build mental health capacity during and after the epidemic. This article will highlight the background of Ebola virus disease and the Ebola virus disease epidemic, provide an overview of current theory and research for expressive arts therapy and the impact of trauma, describe the process of how the program developed and was implemented, the process of partnering with the community, program components, the two pilot programs, and the large-scale community program. We performed a mixed-methods analysis of the large-scale program’s activity data to evaluate the impact. The results highlight a positive response from the participating children and facilitators. The authors discuss the findings from the results, best practices, and limitations. Additionally, the authors discuss implications and considerations for future programming.

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Modeling the impact of migrated population on human-to-human transmission of Ebola virus disease

International Journal of Modeling Simulation and Scientific Computing ◽

10.1142/s1793962318500083 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 09 (01) ◽

pp. 1850008

Author(s):

Abhinav Tandon ◽

Sankha Banerjee

Keyword(s):

Ebola Virus ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Disease Model ◽

Critical Values ◽

Ebola Virus Disease ◽

Reproductive Number ◽

Contact Rates ◽

The Stability ◽

Time Required ◽

The Impact

A nonlinear SEIR mathematical model is developed to investigate the impact of migrated population, infected with Ebola virus, on human-to-human transmission of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in a disease-free area. In view of the dynamics of Ebola virus disease, here, the infected class is supposed to be divided into subclasses, viz. primary and secondary infected. The proposed model is analyzed qualitatively using the stability theory of differential equations and quantitatively using numerical simulation. The obtained results, qualitatively and quantitatively, suggest that migration and contact rates play an important role in controlling the spreading of disease. Critical values for migration and contact rates are evaluated and it is revealed that if these rates go beyond their critical values, it leads to delay in the stabilization of the system. It is also found that primary reproductive number increases with increase in migration rate. Besides this, the approximate time required to attain stability of the disease model system is also determined. The model analysis recommends quarantining the noninfected from the secondary infected in order to control the spreading out of disease.

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The impact of the 2014–15 Ebola virus disease epidemic on emergency care attendance and capacity at a tertiary referral hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone: a retrospective observational study

The Lancet ◽

10.1016/s0140-6736(16)00496-7 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 387 ◽

pp. S109 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Daniel Youkee ◽

Nathaniel Williams ◽

Michael Laggah ◽

Patrick Howlett ◽

Marta Lado ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Observational Study ◽

Sierra Leone ◽

Emergency Care ◽

Ebola Virus ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Referral Hospital ◽

Ebola Virus Disease ◽

Tertiary Referral ◽

Tertiary Referral Hospital ◽

The Impact

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Modeling the impact of quarantine during an outbreak of Ebola virus disease

Infectious Disease Modelling ◽

10.1016/j.idm.2019.01.003 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 12-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Attila Dénes ◽

Abba B. Gumel

Keyword(s):

Ebola Virus ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Ebola Virus Disease ◽

The Impact

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The impact of malaria coinfection on Ebola virus disease outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0251101 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. e0251101

Author(s):

Hannah M. Edwards ◽

Helen Counihan ◽

Craig Bonnington ◽

Jane Achan ◽

Prudence Hamade ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Ebola Virus ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Case Fatality ◽

The Body ◽

Diagnostic Methods ◽

Ebola Virus Disease ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Impact

Introduction Viral outbreaks present a particular challenge in countries in Africa where there is already a high incidence of other infectious diseases, including malaria which can alter immune responses to secondary infection. Ebola virus disease (EVD) is one such problem; understanding how Plasmodium spp. and Ebolavirus (EBOV) interact is important for future outbreaks. Methods We conducted a systematic review in PubMed and Web of Science to find peer-reviewed papers with primary data literature to determine 1) prevalence of EBOV/Plasmodium spp. coinfection, 2) effect of EBOV/Plasmodium spp. coinfection on EVD pathology and the immune response, 3) impact of EBOV/Plasmodium spp. coinfection on the outcome of EVD-related mortality. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted with the R package meta to produce overall proportion and effect estimates as well as measure between-study heterogeneity. Results From 322 peer-reviewed papers, 17 were included in the qualitative review and nine were included in a meta-analysis. Prevalence of coinfection was between 19% and 72%. One study reported significantly lower coagulatory response biomarkers in coinfected cases but no difference in inflammatory markers. Case fatality rates were similar between EBOV(+)/Pl(+) and EBOV(+)/Pl(-) cases (62.8%, 95% CI 49.3–74.6 and 56.7%, 95% CI 53.2–60.1, respectively), and there was no significant difference in risk of mortality (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.90–1.31) although heterogeneity between studies was high. One in vivo mouse model laboratory study found no difference in mortality by infection status, but another found prior acute Plasmodium yoeli infection was protective against morbidity and mortality via the IFN-γ signalling pathway. Conclusion The literature was inconclusive; studies varied widely and there was little attempt to adjust for confounding variables. Laboratory studies may present the best option to answer how pathogens interact within the body but improvement in data collection and analysis and in diagnostic methods would aid patient studies in the future.

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Ebola virus disease outbreak in Nigeria: transmission dynamics and rapid control

10.7287/peerj.preprints.569v3 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christian L Althaus ◽

Nicola Low ◽

Emmanuel O. Musa ◽

Faisal Shuaib ◽

Sandro Gsteiger

Keyword(s):

Ebola Virus ◽

Reproduction Number ◽

Time Window ◽

Index Case ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Control Measures ◽

Ebola Virus Disease ◽

Transmission Model ◽

The Individual ◽

The Impact

International air travel has already spread Ebola virus disease (EVD) to major cities as part of the unprecedented epidemic that started in Guinea in December 2013. An infected airline passenger arrived in Nigeria on July 20, 2014 and caused an outbreak in Lagos and then Port Harcourt. After a total of 20 reported cases, including 8 deaths, Nigeria was declared EVD free on October 20, 2014. We quantified the impact of early control measures in preventing further spread of EVD in Nigeria and calculated the risk that a single undetected case will cause a new outbreak. We fitted an EVD transmission model to data from the outbreak in Nigeria and estimated the individual reproduction number of the index case at 9.0 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.2-15.6). We also found that the net reproduction number fell below unity 15 days (95% CI: 11-21 days) after the arrival of the index case. Hence, our study illustrates the time window for successful containment of EVD outbreaks caused by infected air travelers.

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