Ebola Virus Disease: Epidemiology, Clinical Features, Management, and Prevention

Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2019 Dec;33(4):953-976. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2019.08.005.

Abstract

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a deadly zoonotic disease caused by the Ebola virus. There is no specific treatment approved for EVD. Supportive care and management of complications are mainstays of treatment. Effective outbreak control requires a multidisciplinary team effort applying case management, infection prevention and control practices, surveillance and contact tracing, a good laboratory service, safe and dignified burials, and social and community mobilization. This article highlights the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, management, and prevention of EVD. The emerging diagnostic technologies, rapid viral characterization, geospatial mapping of EVD transmission, and new treatments and vaccines are discussed.

Keywords: Diagnosis; Ebola; Ebola hemorrhagic fever; Ebola virus diseases; Epidemiology; Prevention; Treatment; Vaccines.

Publication types

  • Historical Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Africa / epidemiology
  • Animals
  • Disease Outbreaks / history
  • Ebola Vaccines / immunology
  • Ebolavirus / physiology*
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / epidemiology*
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / prevention & control
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / virology*
  • History, 20th Century
  • History, 21st Century
  • Humans
  • Zoonoses

Substances

  • Ebola Vaccines