Many apologies for the long radio silence. I have, unfortunately, not had time to build proper summaries over the past few months. But rather than leave my initial work to fester, I am putting up these unadorned lists of links, in case others find them to be of use. Starting with materials from February.
- Robert Lever and Christopher Whitty presented a broad overview of the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Ebola virus disease: emergence, outbreak and future directions
Epidemiology
- Natalie E. Dean and colleagues presented a meta-analysis of key epidemiological parameters. The transmissibility and pathogenicity of Ebola virus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of household secondary attack rate and asymptomatic infection
Epidemic control strategies
- Sylvie Njankou, in her Master’s degree thesis, modelled the relative benefits of various control strategies. Modelling the potential role of control strategies on Ebola virus disease dynamics [pdf]
- Paul Pronyk and colleagues evaluated the impact of Community Care Centres on the epidemic’s progression. The Effect of Community-Based Prevention and Care on Ebola Transmission in Sierra Leone
- Katherine Atkins and colleagues evaluated how behaviour change affected the course of the 2014 Liberian epidemic. Retrospective Analysis of the 2014–2015 Ebola Epidemic in Liberia
- Daniel H. de Vries and colleagues analysed how communities experienced an earlier epidemic in Uganda. The first mile: community experience of outbreak control during an Ebola outbreak in Luwero District, Uganda
- Rui Gama Vaz and colleagues highlighted how the Ebola response in Nigeria reliaed on existing Polio infrastructure. The Role of the Polio Program Infrastructure in Response to Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Nigeria 2014
Health care for Ebola
- Felicity Fitzgerald and colleagues presented a poster on a child cohort in Freetown. Ebola virus disease in children in Sierra Leone: a retrospective cohort study
- A.M. Baldé and colleagues evaluated traditional healers’ responses in Guinea. Ethnomedical and ethnobotanical investigations on the response capacities of Guinean traditional health practioners in the management of outbreaks of infectious diseases: The case of the Ebola virus epidemic
- Matthew K. O’Shea and colleagues present a case study of a health care worker. A Health Care Worker with Ebola Virus Disease and Adverse Prognostic Factors Treated in Sierra Leone
- Pascal Cherpillod and colleagues reviewed a range of real-time PCR Ebola tests. Ebola virus disease diagnosis by real-time RT-PCR: A comparative study of 11 different procedures
Ebola epidemic impact
- Dr Daniel Youkee and colleagues presented a poster on how the epidemic affected emergency care at a referral hospital in Freetown. 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
- Kim Brolin Ribacke and colleagues analysed data on how delivery rates dropped during the Ebola outbreak. The Impact of the West Africa Ebola Outbreak on Obstetric Health Care in Sierra Leone
- Alyssa Parpia and colleagues modelled the impact of reduced healthcare during the outbreak on mortality for other health conditions. Effects of Response to 2014–2015 Ebola Outbreak on Deaths from Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and Tuberculosis, West Africa
- Tine Van Bortel and colleagues reviewed how the epidemic affected various populations psychosocially. Psychosocial effects of an Ebola outbreak at individual, community and international levels
- Sarah Benifei and colleagues reviewed the experiences of French military health service personnel, and their approach’s impact on patient well-being. Ebola crisis in Guinea: psychosocial support for patients and caregivers
Vaccines
- Data on all three PREVAIL studies (I: Vaccine trial; II: ZMapp trial; III: natural history in survivors) were all presented at CROI. Findings from Three PREVAIL Ebola Studies
- Lori Dodd and colleagues described how they designed the PREVAIL II trial, focused on safety/efficacy of ZMapp. Design of a randomized controlled-trial for Ebola virus disease medical countermeasures: PREVAIL II, the Ebola MCM study
Survivors
- Janet Scott and colleagues conducted a survey of all survivors of a Freetown ETU three weeks post-discharge. Post-Ebola Syndrome, Sierra Leone
- Maria Berghs considered how “survivorship” has been framed within a discussion of “disability”. Neoliberal policy, chronic corruption and disablement: biosecurity, biosocial risks and the creation of ‘Ebola survivors’?
- Julii Brainard and colleagues reviewed which fluids might be infectious amongst survivors of filoviruses, finding limited evidence. Presence and Persistence of Ebola or Marburg Virus in Patients and Survivors: A Rapid Systematic Review
Other items
- Xiang Huo and colleagues report on a survey regarding vaccine knowledge and attitudes amongst 400 community members close to Freetown. Knowledge and attitudes about Ebola vaccine among the general population in Sierra Leone
- Jesca Batidziraia reviews ethical and feasible approaches to conducting Ebola vaccination trials. Randomisation in a clinical trial: is it feasible in the Ebola crisis? If it is, then which method is suitable?
Constrained Optimization 