Ebola Virus Disease: An Update on Epidemiology, Symptoms, Laboratory Findings, Diagnostic Issues, and Infection Prevention and Control Issues for Laboratory Professionals

Colin S Brown; Stephen Mepham; Robert J Shorten

doi:10.1016/j.cll.2017.01.003

Ebola Virus Disease: An Update on Epidemiology, Symptoms, Laboratory Findings, Diagnostic Issues, and Infection Prevention and Control Issues for Laboratory Professionals

Clin Lab Med. 2017 Jun;37(2):269-284. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2017.01.003.

Authors

Colin S Brown¹, Stephen Mepham², Robert J Shorten³

Affiliations

¹ Weston Education Centre, King's Sierra Leone Partnership, King's Centre for Global Health, King's Health Partners, King's College London, London SE5 9RJ, UK; National Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK. Electronic address: colinbrown@doctors.net.uk.
² Department of Infection, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
³ Public Health Laboratory Manchester, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK; Department of Infection, Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, London, UK.

PMID: 28457350
DOI: 10.1016/j.cll.2017.01.003

Abstract

The 2014 to 2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD), through the sheer size of the outbreak and combined experience within both resource-rich and resource-poor settings, allowed for more information to be gained about the clinical and pathologic features of EVD. This review highlights the range of aspects of EVD that the authors find are relevant to laboratory medicine, including the need for robust prediagnostic and laboratory processing algorithms to inform sampling of suspect patients, the vast majority of whom, in resource-rich settings, will have another diagnosis.

Keywords: Ebola; Preparedness; Safety; Viral hemorrhagic fever.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Algorithms
Clinical Laboratory Techniques*
Disease Outbreaks
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola* / diagnosis
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola* / epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola* / prevention & control
Humans
Laboratories*