OBJECTIVE: Healthcare personnel (HCP) were recruited to provide serum samples, which were tested for antibodies against Ebola or Lassa virus to evaluate for asymptomatic seroconversion. SETTING: From 2014 to 2016, 4 patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) and 1 patient with Lassa fever (LF) were treated in the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit (SCDU) at Emory University Hospital. Strict infection control and clinical biosafety practices were implemented to prevent nosocomial transmission of EVD or LF to HCP. PARTICIPANTS: All personnel who entered the SCDU who were required to measure their temperatures and complete a symptom questionnaire twice daily were eligible. RESULTS: No employee developed symptomatic EVD or LF. EVD and LF antibody studies were performed on sera samples from 42 HCP. The 6 participants who had received investigational vaccination with a chimpanzee adenovirus type 3 vectored Ebola glycoprotein vaccine had high antibody titers to Ebola glycoprotein, but none had a response to Ebola nucleoprotein or VP40, or a response to LF antigens. CONCLUSIONS: Patients infected with filoviruses and arenaviruses can be managed successfully without causing occupation-related symptomatic or asymptomatic infections. Meticulous attention to infection control and clinical biosafety practices by highly motivated, trained staff is critical to the safe care of patients with an infection from a special pathogen.
OBJECTIVE: Healthcare personnel (HCP) were recruited to provide serum samples, which were tested for antibodies against Ebola or Lassa virus to evaluate for asymptomatic seroconversion. SETTING: From 2014 to 2016, 4 patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) and 1 patient with Lassa fever (LF) were treated in the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit (SCDU) at Emory University Hospital. Strict infection control and clinical biosafety practices were implemented to prevent nosocomial transmission of EVD or LF to HCP. PARTICIPANTS: All personnel who entered the SCDU who were required to measure their temperatures and complete a symptom questionnaire twice daily were eligible. RESULTS: No employee developed symptomatic EVD or LF. EVD and LF antibody studies were performed on sera samples from 42 HCP. The 6 participants who had received investigational vaccination with a chimpanzee adenovirus type 3 vectored Ebola glycoprotein vaccine had high antibody titers to Ebola glycoprotein, but none had a response to Ebola nucleoprotein or VP40, or a response to LF antigens. CONCLUSIONS: Patients infected with filoviruses and arenaviruses can be managed successfully without causing occupation-related symptomatic or asymptomatic infections. Meticulous attention to infection control and clinical biosafety practices by highly motivated, trained staff is critical to the safe care of patients with an infection from a special pathogen.
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Authors: Sabue Mulangu; Vivian H Alfonso; Nicole A Hoff; Reena H Doshi; Prime Mulembakani; Neville K Kisalu; Emile Okitolonda-Wemakoy; Benoit Ilunga Kebela; Hadar Marcus; Joseph Shiloach; Je-Nie Phue; Linda L Wright; Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum; Nancy J Sullivan; Anne W Rimoin Journal: J Infect Dis Date: 2018-01-30 Impact factor: 5.226
Authors: Allison M Liddell; Richard T Davey; Aneesh K Mehta; Jay B Varkey; Colleen S Kraft; Gebre K Tseggay; Oghenetega Badidi; Andrew C Faust; Katia V Brown; Anthony F Suffredini; Kevin Barrett; Mark J Wolcott; Vincent C Marconi; G Marshall Lyon; Gary L Weinstein; Kenney Weinmeister; Shelby Sutton; Munir Hazbun; César G Albariño; Zachary Reed; Debi Cannon; Ute Ströher; Mark Feldman; Bruce S Ribner; H Clifford Lane; Anthony S Fauci; Timothy M Uyeki Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2015-07-21 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: Colleen S Kraft; Angela L Hewlett; Scott Koepsell; Anne M Winkler; Christopher J Kratochvil; LuAnn Larson; Jay B Varkey; Aneesh K Mehta; G Marshall Lyon; Rachel J Friedman-Moraco; Vincent C Marconi; Charles E Hill; James N Sullivan; Daniel W Johnson; Steven J Lisco; Mark J Mulligan; Timothy M Uyeki; Anita K McElroy; Tara Sealy; Shelley Campbell; Christina Spiropoulou; Ute Ströher; Ian Crozier; Richard Sacra; Michael J Connor; Viranuj Sueblinvong; Harold A Franch; Philip W Smith; Bruce S Ribner Journal: Clin Infect Dis Date: 2015-04-22 Impact factor: 9.079
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