During an Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, health workers (HWs) are at high risk of EVD infection. Health workers infected with EVD are a major risk factor for the failure to control EVD outbreaks. The tenth outbreak is the largest recorded in the DRC, but unfortunately few studies have described the occurrence, case-fatality ratio (CFR) among HWs and their perceptions. The aim of this study was to describe: the occurrence of EVD; related mortality; and perceptions of EVD transmission among HWs. A mixed methods study was conducted in north-eastern DRC in August 2019. A review of EVD surveillance data and in depth interviews with 16 front line HWs were carried out. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim in Swahili before being translated into French and subsequently into English. Quantitative data were imported from Microsoft Excel to Stata 14.0 for analysis. Mean and standard deviation (SD) were used to summarize numeric variables while frequency was used for categorical data. All descriptive statistics are reported with their 95% confidence interval. From 12 July 2018 to 17 August 2019, some 151 confirmed and three probable health worker cases were recorded in the viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) surveillance dataset for the provinces of North-Kivu and Ituri. Heath workers accounted for 5.5% [4.6-6.4]. More than half of the HWs infected were male, with a male to female ratio of 1.3. The mean age of HWs infected was 33.9 years (sd: 10.3). Nosocomial transmission was the most common route of transmission among HWs (94.1%). For more than a quarter of the HWs the contact case was unknown. From a total of 154 infected HWs, some 29 died (CFR: 18.8% [13.0-25.9]). The factors mentioned by HWs as being associated with EVD transmission among them were: ignorance that patient was infected; unavailability of protective equipment; non-compliance of hygienic measures like regular hand washing; violation of EVD infection prevention and control (IPC) standards; and their resistance thereto. The occurrence of EVD cases among HWs is a challenge for the control of the current outbreak in the DRC. It is important to implement strategies to reduce transmission in this population group.
Published in | Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 5, Issue 6) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23 |
Page(s) | 310-315 |
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group |
EVD, HWS, CRF, Perceptions, DRC
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APA Style
Aimee Lulebo Mampasi, Paul Samson Lusamba Dikasa, Joel Konde Nkiama, Patrick Kayembe Kalambayi, Emile Okitolonda Wemakoy, et al. (2019). Case-fatality Ratio Due to Ebola Virus Disease in North-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019. Central African Journal of Public Health, 5(6), 310-315. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23
ACS Style
Aimee Lulebo Mampasi; Paul Samson Lusamba Dikasa; Joel Konde Nkiama; Patrick Kayembe Kalambayi; Emile Okitolonda Wemakoy, et al. Case-fatality Ratio Due to Ebola Virus Disease in North-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2019, 5(6), 310-315. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23
AMA Style
Aimee Lulebo Mampasi, Paul Samson Lusamba Dikasa, Joel Konde Nkiama, Patrick Kayembe Kalambayi, Emile Okitolonda Wemakoy, et al. Case-fatality Ratio Due to Ebola Virus Disease in North-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2019;5(6):310-315. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23
@article{10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23, author = {Aimee Lulebo Mampasi and Paul Samson Lusamba Dikasa and Joel Konde Nkiama and Patrick Kayembe Kalambayi and Emile Okitolonda Wemakoy and Vieux Mokoli Momeme and Jack Kokolomami Hyyombo Tambwe}, title = {Case-fatality Ratio Due to Ebola Virus Disease in North-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019}, journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health}, volume = {5}, number = {6}, pages = {310-315}, doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20190506.23}, abstract = {During an Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, health workers (HWs) are at high risk of EVD infection. Health workers infected with EVD are a major risk factor for the failure to control EVD outbreaks. The tenth outbreak is the largest recorded in the DRC, but unfortunately few studies have described the occurrence, case-fatality ratio (CFR) among HWs and their perceptions. The aim of this study was to describe: the occurrence of EVD; related mortality; and perceptions of EVD transmission among HWs. A mixed methods study was conducted in north-eastern DRC in August 2019. A review of EVD surveillance data and in depth interviews with 16 front line HWs were carried out. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim in Swahili before being translated into French and subsequently into English. Quantitative data were imported from Microsoft Excel to Stata 14.0 for analysis. Mean and standard deviation (SD) were used to summarize numeric variables while frequency was used for categorical data. All descriptive statistics are reported with their 95% confidence interval. From 12 July 2018 to 17 August 2019, some 151 confirmed and three probable health worker cases were recorded in the viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) surveillance dataset for the provinces of North-Kivu and Ituri. Heath workers accounted for 5.5% [4.6-6.4]. More than half of the HWs infected were male, with a male to female ratio of 1.3. The mean age of HWs infected was 33.9 years (sd: 10.3). Nosocomial transmission was the most common route of transmission among HWs (94.1%). For more than a quarter of the HWs the contact case was unknown. From a total of 154 infected HWs, some 29 died (CFR: 18.8% [13.0-25.9]). The factors mentioned by HWs as being associated with EVD transmission among them were: ignorance that patient was infected; unavailability of protective equipment; non-compliance of hygienic measures like regular hand washing; violation of EVD infection prevention and control (IPC) standards; and their resistance thereto. The occurrence of EVD cases among HWs is a challenge for the control of the current outbreak in the DRC. It is important to implement strategies to reduce transmission in this population group.}, year = {2019} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Case-fatality Ratio Due to Ebola Virus Disease in North-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019 AU - Aimee Lulebo Mampasi AU - Paul Samson Lusamba Dikasa AU - Joel Konde Nkiama AU - Patrick Kayembe Kalambayi AU - Emile Okitolonda Wemakoy AU - Vieux Mokoli Momeme AU - Jack Kokolomami Hyyombo Tambwe Y1 - 2019/12/02 PY - 2019 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23 DO - 10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23 T2 - Central African Journal of Public Health JF - Central African Journal of Public Health JO - Central African Journal of Public Health SP - 310 EP - 315 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-5781 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190506.23 AB - During an Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, health workers (HWs) are at high risk of EVD infection. Health workers infected with EVD are a major risk factor for the failure to control EVD outbreaks. The tenth outbreak is the largest recorded in the DRC, but unfortunately few studies have described the occurrence, case-fatality ratio (CFR) among HWs and their perceptions. The aim of this study was to describe: the occurrence of EVD; related mortality; and perceptions of EVD transmission among HWs. A mixed methods study was conducted in north-eastern DRC in August 2019. A review of EVD surveillance data and in depth interviews with 16 front line HWs were carried out. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim in Swahili before being translated into French and subsequently into English. Quantitative data were imported from Microsoft Excel to Stata 14.0 for analysis. Mean and standard deviation (SD) were used to summarize numeric variables while frequency was used for categorical data. All descriptive statistics are reported with their 95% confidence interval. From 12 July 2018 to 17 August 2019, some 151 confirmed and three probable health worker cases were recorded in the viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) surveillance dataset for the provinces of North-Kivu and Ituri. Heath workers accounted for 5.5% [4.6-6.4]. More than half of the HWs infected were male, with a male to female ratio of 1.3. The mean age of HWs infected was 33.9 years (sd: 10.3). Nosocomial transmission was the most common route of transmission among HWs (94.1%). For more than a quarter of the HWs the contact case was unknown. From a total of 154 infected HWs, some 29 died (CFR: 18.8% [13.0-25.9]). The factors mentioned by HWs as being associated with EVD transmission among them were: ignorance that patient was infected; unavailability of protective equipment; non-compliance of hygienic measures like regular hand washing; violation of EVD infection prevention and control (IPC) standards; and their resistance thereto. The occurrence of EVD cases among HWs is a challenge for the control of the current outbreak in the DRC. It is important to implement strategies to reduce transmission in this population group. VL - 5 IS - 6 ER -