Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Global Epidemiology of EBOLA Disease: A Review

Adekunle Sanyaolu, Chuku Okorie, Olanrewaju Badaru, Alex Adler, Michelle Boucher, Kurtis Carlson, David Johnson, Myriam Jolicoeur, Aleksandra Marinkovic, Philip Mead, Delini Sivakumar, Madison Stewart, Alexander Stirpe

International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health · pp. 1–15 · Published 12 Nov 2015

10.9734/IJTDH/2016/22284

Abstract

EVD is a disease of humans and other non-human primates caused by Ebola viruses, which was first discovered in 1976. Between 1976 and 2013 there had been 24 outbreaks of the disease. The recent outbreak is the 26th and has seen more deaths than all other outbreaks from the disease combined. This outbreak in West Africa occurred in five countries: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. In the present research article, the authors reviewed various studies and current research on EVD. EVD was initially restricted to West Africa when the outbreak was first identified, but later was reported in several countries around the world, including the USA. Researchers have begun to use mathematical analysis from previous outbreaks to construct the Atangana's Beta Ebola System of Equations (ABESE), which is being used to predict the spread of future outbreaks.  The pathophysiology and transmission factors, including the basic and effective reproduction numbers, R0 and Re are discussed in detail. Prevention and control measures, such as proper hygiene techniques (both preventative and post-exposure), education (including educating communities on proper burial techniques), reduction in the consumption and exposure to bushmeat, and controlled prevention of the spread of the disease (proper personal protective equipment and protocol upon exposure or in high-risk environments), are outlined. The history and current outbreak are reviewed in detail, which compare the differences in previous outbreaks compared to the current. Earlier (and less deadly) outbreaks have also been traced to the ZEBOV strain, and researchers suggest that the evolutionary rate of gene mutations was accelerated in this current outbreak. Death occurs in approximately 40% of affected individuals within 7-12 days after the onset of initial symptoms and is most often associated with multi-organ failure. Researchers outline the WHO’s criteria for screening and diagnosis, including primary, secondary and entry screening.  There is currently no cure for EDV, only supportive treatment. There are current drug trials on the following vaccinations: ZMapp, TKM-Ebola, Favipiravir, cAd3 and VSVΔ-EBOVGP12. This review article will attempt to summarize the current state of understanding on EVD and explore the most recent and accepted information including epidemiology of the disease, etiology and pathophysiology, transmission, prevention and control, history, recent outbreaks, clinical manifestations, screening and diagnosis, and treatment and clinical trials.

Ebola virus disease outbreak surveillance RNA virus.

References (50)

  1. 1 Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa — The First 9 Months of the Epidemic and Forward Projections [DOI]
  2. 2 Fruit bats as reservoirs of Ebola virus [DOI]
  3. 3 Ebola haemorrhagic fever [DOI]
  4. 4 Genomic surveillance elucidates Ebola virus origin and transmission during the 2014 outbreak [DOI]
  5. 5 Multiple Ebola Virus Transmission Events and Rapid Decline of Central African Wildlife [DOI]
  6. 6 The virion glycoproteins of Ebola viruses are encoded in two reading frames and are expressed through transcriptional editing. [DOI]
  7. 7 Assessment of the Risk of Ebola Virus Transmission from Bodily Fluids and Fomites [DOI]
  8. 8 Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Clinical Observations in 103 Patients [DOI]
  9. 9 The Reemergence of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995 [DOI]
  10. 10 Transmission dynamics and control of Ebola virus disease (EVD): a review [DOI]
  11. 11 Estimating the Reproduction Number of Ebola Virus (EBOV) During the 2014 Outbreak in West Africa
  12. 12 Clinical Presentation of Patients with Ebola Virus Disease in Conakry, Guinea [DOI]
  13. 13 Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa — Clinical Manifestations and Management [DOI]
  14. 14 Estimating the future number of cases in the Ebola epidemic--Liberia and Sierra Leone, 2014-2015.
  15. 15 A Monovalent Chimpanzee Adenovirus Ebola Vaccine Boosted with MVA [DOI]
  16. 16 An outbreak of Ebola in Uganda [DOI]
  17. 17 Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vector Ebola Vaccine [DOI]
  18. 18 Ebola 2014 — New Challenges, New Global Response and Responsibility [DOI]
  19. 19 Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vector Ebola Vaccine — Preliminary Report [DOI]
  20. 20 The International Ebola Emergency [DOI]
  21. 21 Assessment of the potential for international dissemination of Ebola virus via commercial air travel during the 2014 west African outbreak [DOI]
  22. 22 Recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus–Based Vaccines Against Ebola and Marburg Virus Infections [DOI]
  23. 23 The 2014 Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa [DOI]
  24. 24 Clinical features and pathobiology of Ebolavirus infection [DOI]
  25. 25 mAbs and Ad-Vectored IFN-α Therapy Rescue Ebola-Infected Nonhuman Primates When Administered After the Detection of Viremia and Symptoms [DOI]
  26. 26 The emergence of Ebola as a global health security threat: From ′lessons learned′ to coordinated multilateral containment efforts [DOI]
  27. 27 Clinical Manifestations and Case Management of Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever Caused by a Newly Identified Virus Strain, Bundibugyo, Uganda, 2007–2008 [DOI]
  28. 28 The Multiple Roles of sGP in Ebola Pathogenesis [DOI]
  29. 29 Clinical Presentation and Management of Severe Ebola Virus Disease [DOI]
  30. 30 A novel model for the lassa hemorrhagic fever: deathly disease for pregnant women [DOI]
  31. 31 Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa [DOI]
  32. 32 Clinical Management of Filovirus-Infected Patients [DOI]
  33. 33 Fighting Ebola with ZMapp: spotlight on plant-made antibody [DOI]
  34. 34 Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission [DOI]
  35. 35 Ebola Then and Now [DOI]
  36. 36 Controlling Ebola: next steps [DOI]
  37. 37 On the Mathematical Analysis of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Deathly Infection Disease in West African Countries [DOI]
  38. 38 Rapid assessment of Ebola infection prevention and control needs--six districts, Sierra Leone, October 2014.
  39. 39 Ebola: worldwide dissemination risk and response priorities [DOI]
  40. 40 Progress of vaccine and drug development for Ebola preparedness [DOI]
  41. 41 Ebola: learn from the past [DOI]
  42. 42 Identifying the pattern of molecular evolution for Zaire ebolavirus in the 2014 outbreak in West Africa [DOI]
  43. 43 Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers [DOI]
  44. 44 Ebola in West Africa: who pays for what in the outbreak?
  45. 45 Ebola Virus Disease: A Perspective for the United States [DOI]
  46. 46 Enfermedad por el virus del Ébola: epidemiología y manifestaciones clínicas en un contexto de emergencia de salud pública internacional [DOI]
  47. 47 Ebola in West Africa: be aware and prepare [DOI]
  48. 48 [Outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the Republic of the Congo, 2003: a new strategy?].
  49. 49 Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever [DOI]
  50. 50 The Largest Ebola Outbreak What Have We Learned So Far [DOI]

Cited by 3

Identification of factors effecting Covid-19

Afifa Wajid, Faria Ferooz, Iqra Rashid · 2021 International Conference on Innovative Computing (ICIC) · 2021

Showing 1 of 3 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

12

Page views

0

PDF downloads

2

Outbound clicks

3

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.