Interventions to Control Virus Transmission During an Outbreak of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Experience from Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995.

On 6 May 1995, the Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) coordinator in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), received a request for assistance for what was believed to be a concurrent outbreak of bacillary dysentery and viral hemorrhagic fever (suspected Ebola hemorrhagic fever [EHF]) in the town of Kikwit, DRC. On 11 May, the MSF intervention team assessed Kikwit General Hospital. This initial assessment revealed a nonfunctional isolation ward for suspected EHF cases; a lack of water and electricity; no waste disposal system; and no protective gear for medical staff. The priorities set by MSF were to establish a functional isolation ward to deal with EHF and to distribute protective supplies to individuals who were involved with patient care. Before the intervention, 67 health workers contracted EHF; after the initiation of control measures, just 3 cases were reported among health staff and none among Red Cross volunteers involved in body burial

Interferometric detection and enumeration of viral particles using Si-based microfluidics

Single-particle interferometric reflectance imaging sensor enables optical visualization and characterization of individual nanoparticles without any labels. Using this technique, we have shown end-point and real-time detection of viral particles using laminate-based active and passive cartridge configurations. Here, we present a new concept for low-cost microfluidic integration of the sensor chips into compact cartridges through utilization of readily available silicon fabrication technologies. This new cartridge configuration will allow simultaneous detection of individual virus binding events on a 9-spot microarray, and provide the needed simplicity and robustness for routine real-time operation for discrete detection of viral particles in a multiplex format.This work was supported in part by a research contract with the ASELSAN Research Center, Ankara, Turkey, and in part by the European Union's Horizon 2020 FET Open program under Grant 766466-INDEX. (ASELSAN Research Center, Ankara, Turkey; 766466-INDEX - European Union's Horizon 2020 FET Open program)First author draf

Community-based Crisis Response: Evidence from Sierra Leone’s Ebola Outbreak

Postmortems on the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa suggest that effective community engagement helped slow transmission by encouraging people to come forward and be tested. We evaluate the impact of Community Care Centers: a new crisis response model designed to allay fears about western medical care and, thus, encourage early reporting, isolation, and treatment. We employ new panel data on reported Ebola cases and a difference-in-difference design and find that Community Care Centers dramatically increased reporting, potentially reducing the spread of Ebola. Our results highlight how community-based efforts to increase confidence in health systems can be critical for crisis management

Viral hemorrhagic fevers fact sheet

Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) refer to a group of illnesses that are caused by several distinct families of viruses. In general, the term "viral hemorrhagic fever" is used to describe a severe multisystem syndrome (multisystem in that multiple organ systems in the body are affected). Characteristically, the overall vascular system is damaged, and the body's ability to regulate itself is impaired. These symptoms are often accompanied by hemorrhage (bleeding); however, the bleeding is itself rarely life-threatening. While some types of hemorrhagic fever viruses can cause relatively mild illnesses, many of these viruses cause severe, life-threatening disease.The Special Pathogens Branch (SPB) primarily works with hemorrhagic fever viruses that are classified as biosafety level four (BSL-4) pathogens. A list of these viruses appears in the SPB disease information index. The Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, also in the National Center for Infectious Diseases, works with the non-BSL-4 viruses that cause two other hemorrhagic fevers, dengue hemorrhagic fever and yellow fever.What are viral hemorrhagic fevers? -- How are hemorrhagic fever viruses grouped? -- What carries viruses that cause viral hemorrhagic fevers? -- Where are cases of viral hemorrhagic fever found? -- How are hemorrhagic fever viruses transmitted? -- What are the symptoms of viral hemorrhagic fever illnesses? -- How are patients with viral hemorrhagic fever treated? -- How can cases of viral hemorrhagic fever be prevented and controlled? -- What needs to be done to address the threat of viral hemorrhagic fevers?Health EducationInfectious Diseas

Ecological and epidemiological aspects of flavivirus and its vectors in Paraguay

Presentación del proyecto en el Mosticaw workshop.CONACYT – Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPROCIENCI

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

The Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne infectious viral disease in the family Bunyaviridae. The disease was first characterized in the Crimea in 1944 and given the name Crimean hemorrhagic fever. CCHF was then later recognized in 1969 as the cause of illness in the Congo, thus resulting in the current name of the disease. CCHF causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks (CDC, 2014)

Gene expression in primate liver during viral hemorrhagic fever

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rhesus macaques infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) provide a model for human Lassa fever. Disease begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses rapidly with fatal consequences. Previously, we profiled the blood transcriptome of LCMV-infected monkeys (M. Djavani et al J. Virol. 2007) showing distinct pre-viremic and viremic stages that discriminated virulent from benign infections. In the present study, changes in liver gene expression from macaques infected with virulent LCMV-WE were compared to gene expression in uninfected monkeys as well as to monkeys that were infected but not diseased.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on a functional pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes, virulent LCMV-WE had a broader effect on liver cell function than did infection with non-virulent LCMV-Armstrong. During the first few days after infection, LCMV altered expression of genes associated with energy production, including fatty acid and glucose metabolism. The transcriptome profile resembled that of an organism in starvation: mRNA for acetyl-CoA carboxylase, a key enzyme of fatty acid synthesis was reduced while genes for enzymes in gluconeogenesis were up-regulated. Expression was also altered for genes associated with complement and coagulation cascades, and with signaling pathways involving STAT1 and TGF-β.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Most of the 4500 differentially expressed transcripts represented a general response to both virulent and mild infections. However, approximately 250 of these transcripts had significantly different expression in virulent infections as compared to mild infections, with approximately 30 of these being differentially regulated during the pre-viremic stage of infection. The genes that are expressed early and differently in mild and virulent disease are potential biomarkers for prognosis and triage of acute viral disease.</p

Yellow Fever Outbreak, Imatong, Southern Sudan

In May 2003, the World Health Organization received reports about a possible outbreak of a hemorrhagic disease of unknown cause in the Imatong Mountains of southern Sudan. Laboratory investigations were conducted on 28 serum samples collected from patients in the Imatong region. Serum samples from 13 patients were positive for immunoglobulin M antibody to flavivirus, and serum samples from 5 patients were positive by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction with both the genus Flavivirus–reactive primers and yellow fever virus–specific primers. Nucleotide sequencing of the amplicons obtained with the genus Flavivirus oligonucleotide primers confirmed yellow fever virus as the etiologic agent. Isolation attempts in newborn mice and Vero cells from the samples yielded virus isolates from five patients. Rapid and accurate laboratory diagnosis enabled an interagency emergency task force to initiate a targeted vaccination campaign to control the outbreak