Ebola Virus Persistence in Breast Milk After No Reported Illness: A Likely Source of Virus Transmission From Mother to Child

Daouda Sissoko; Mory Keïta; Boubacar Diallo; Negar Aliabadi; David L Fitter; Benjamin A Dahl; Joseph Akoi Bore; Fara Raymond Koundouno; Katrin Singethan; Sarah Meisel; Theresa Enkirch; Antonio Mazzarelli; Victoria Amburgey; Ousmane Faye; Amadou Alpha Sall; N'Faly Magassouba; Miles W Carroll; Xavier Anglaret; Denis Malvy; Pierre Formenty; Raymond Bruce Aylward; Sakoba Keïta; Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey; Nicholas J Loman; Stephan Günther; Sophie Duraffour

doi:10.1093/cid/ciw793

Ebola Virus Persistence in Breast Milk After No Reported Illness: A Likely Source of Virus Transmission From Mother to Child

Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Feb 15;64(4):513-516. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciw793.

Authors

Daouda Sissoko^{1

2}, Mory Keïta³, Boubacar Diallo³, Negar Aliabadi⁴, David L Fitter⁴, Benjamin A Dahl⁴, Joseph Akoi Bore^{5

6}, Fara Raymond Koundouno^{5

6}, Katrin Singethan^{5

7}, Sarah Meisel^{5

8}, Theresa Enkirch^{5

9}, Antonio Mazzarelli^{5

10}, Victoria Amburgey^{11

12}, Ousmane Faye¹³, Amadou Alpha Sall¹³, N'Faly Magassouba¹⁴, Miles W Carroll^{5

15

16}, Xavier Anglaret^{1

17}, Denis Malvy^{1

2}, Pierre Formenty¹⁸, Raymond Bruce Aylward¹⁸, Sakoba Keïta⁶, Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey³, Nicholas J Loman¹⁹, Stephan Günther^{5

8}, Sophie Duraffour^{5

8}

Affiliations

¹ INSERM U1219, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux, France.
² Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux, France.
³ World Health Organization, Conakry, Guinea.
⁴ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
⁵ European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany.
⁶ Ministry of Health, Conakry, Guinea.
⁷ Institute of Virology, Technische Universität München/Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich.
⁸ Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
⁹ Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Division of Veterinary Medicine, Langen, Germany.
¹⁰ National Institute for Infectious Diseases "L. Spallanzani", Rome, Italy.
¹¹ Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
¹² Ratoma Ebola Diagnostic Center, Conakry, Guinea.
¹³ Institut Pasteur, Dakar, Senegal.
¹⁴ Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry, Laboratoire des Fièvres Hémorragiques en Guinée, Conakry, Guinea.
¹⁵ Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury.
¹⁶ University of Southampton, South General Hospital, Southampton, United Kingdom.
¹⁷ PAC-CI, ANRS Research Site, Treichville University Hospital, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
¹⁸ World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁹ Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Abstract

A 9-month-old infant died from Ebola virus (EBOV) disease with unknown epidemiological link. While her parents did not report previous illness, laboratory investigations revealed persisting EBOV RNA in the mother's breast milk and the father's seminal fluid. Genomic analysis strongly suggests EBOV transmission to the child through breastfeeding.

Keywords: Ebola virus; asymptomatic carriage; breast milk; mother-to-child transmission; real-time sequencing.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adult
Cluster Analysis
Ebolavirus / isolation & purification*
Female
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / transmission*
Humans
Infant
Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical*
Male
Milk, Human / virology*
Phylogeny
RNA, Viral / genetics
RNA, Viral / isolation & purification
Semen / virology
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Sequence Homology
Young Adult

Substances

RNA, Viral

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding