In this report, Ebola virus was cultured from aqueous humor 14 weeks after disease onset and 9 weeks after resolution of viremia, a finding that indicates the potential for delayed clearance of the ...virus from immune-privileged sites.
The current outbreak of EVD is believed to have begun in December 2013.
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As of April 26, 2015, a total of 26,312 cases of EVD (including 10,899 deaths) had been reported in six countries in West Africa (i.e., Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal), the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain.
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The outbreak has also resulted in the largest number of EVD survivors in history.
Among survivors of EVD, late complications that include ocular disease can develop during convalescence.
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However, few systematic studies have been conducted on post-EVD sequelae, so the incidence and clinical manifestations of . . .
Nipah virus is a highly virulent zoonotic pathogen. In this report from Bangladesh, which included 40% of the world’s known cases, the risk factors for human-to-human transmission were evaluated. No ...asymptomatic cases were identified. Increased respiratory symptoms in the patient and prolonged close contact from caregivers were associated with secondary transmission.
Significance In 2014, Ebola virus became a household term. The ongoing outbreak in West Africa is the largest Ebola virus outbreak ever recorded, with over 20,000 cases and over 8,000 deaths to date. ...Very little is known about the human cellular immune response to Ebola virus infection, and this lack of knowledge has hindered development of effective therapies and vaccines. In this study, we characterize the human immune response to Ebola virus infection in four patients. We define the kinetics of T- and B-cell activation, and determine which viral proteins are targets of the Ebola virus-specific T-cell response in humans.
Four Ebola patients received care at Emory University Hospital, presenting a unique opportunity to examine the cellular immune responses during acute Ebola virus infection. We found striking activation of both B and T cells in all four patients. Plasmablast frequencies were 10–50% of B cells, compared with less than 1% in healthy individuals. Many of these proliferating plasmablasts were IgG-positive, and this finding coincided with the presence of Ebola virus-specific IgG in the serum. Activated CD4 T cells ranged from 5 to 30%, compared with 1–2% in healthy controls. The most pronounced responses were seen in CD8 T cells, with over 50% of the CD8 T cells expressing markers of activation and proliferation. Taken together, these results suggest that all four patients developed robust immune responses during the acute phase of Ebola virus infection, a finding that would not have been predicted based on our current assumptions about the highly immunosuppressive nature of Ebola virus. Also, quite surprisingly, we found sustained immune activation after the virus was cleared from the plasma, observed most strikingly in the persistence of activated CD8 T cells, even 1 mo after the patients’ discharge from the hospital. These results suggest continued antigen stimulation after resolution of the disease. From these convalescent time points, we identified CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses to several Ebola virus proteins, most notably the viral nucleoprotein. Knowledge of the viral proteins targeted by T cells during natural infection should be useful in designing vaccines against Ebola virus.
Treatment of Ebola virus disease is a tremendous challenge for both the patient and the care team. In this report, two patients with EVD were evacuated from Liberia and successfully treated with ...fluid and electrolyte support and other therapies at Emory University Hospital.
The largest outbreak of EVD in history began in December 2013 in Guinea, a country in West Africa.
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By late March, Liberia had reported seven cases. By the end of May, the epidemic had spread to Sierra Leone. As of November 5, 2014, a total of 13,042 cases of EVD (including 4818 deaths) had been reported in six countries in West Africa (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal), the United States, and Spain.
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EVD causes a nonspecific febrile illness associated with myalgia, with progression to gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea). In the second week of . . .
All viral haemorrhagic fever laboratory confirmatory testing is done at UVRI and results are available within 24-48 h after sample reception.Since 2010, the viral haemorrhagic fever laboratory has ...tested over 11 000 clinical samples from serosurveys, surveillance programmes, and outbreaks.In addition to the success of the viral haemorrhagic fever programme in Uganda, direct technical assistance and support for response to viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks throughout Africa has been provided, including for the west Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014-16.8 Materials developed for the Uganda viral haemorrhagic fever programme, including standardised case reporting forms, case definitions, health education and risk communication materials, and the Epi-Info viral haemorrhagic fever application,9 were used in 2014 to the three west African countries affected by Ebola virus disease to aid in outbreak management and control since the region had no previous experience with filovirus outbreaks.Rift valley fever response-Kabale District, Uganda, March 2016, MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, Vol. 65, 2016, 1200-1201 6 JF Wamala, L Lukwago, M Malimbo, Ebola hemorrhagic fever associated with novel virus strain, Uganda, 2007-2008, Emerg Infect Dis, Vol. 16, 2010, 1087-1092 7 SI Okware, FG Omaswa, S Zaramba, An outbreak of Ebola in Uganda, Trop Med Int Health, Vol. 7, 2002, 1068-1075 8 S Bagcchi, Ebola haemorrhagic fever in west Africa, Lancet Infect Dis, Vol. 14, 2014, 375 9 IJ Schafer, E Knudsen, LA McNamara, S Agnihotri, PE Rollin, A Islam, The Epi Info Viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) application: a resource for outbreak data management and contact tracing in the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic, J Infect Dis, Vol. 214, Iss. suppl 3, 2016, S122-S136 10 JN Borchert, JW Tappero, R Downing, Rapidly building global health security capacity-Uganda demonstration project, 2013, MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, Vol. 63, 2014, 73-76
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