Publisher Full Text
Ebola or Not? Evaluating the Ill Traveler From Ebola-Affected Countries in West Africa.Open Forum Infect Dis. 2016 Jan; 3(1):ofw005.OF
Abstract
Background.
The 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa had global impact beyond the primarily affected countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Other countries, including the United States, encountered numerous patients who arrived from highly affected countries with fever or other signs or symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease (EVD). Methods. We describe our experience evaluating 25 travelers who met the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case definition for a person under investigation (PUI) for EVD from July 20, 2014 to January 28, 2015. All patients were triaged and evaluated under the guidance of institutional protocols to the emergency department, outpatient tropical medicine clinic, or Emory's Ebola treatment unit. Strict attention to infection control and early involvement of public health authorities guided the safe evaluation of these patients.Results.
None were diagnosed with EVD. Respiratory illnesses were common, and 8 (32%) PUI were confirmed to have influenza. Four patients (16%) were diagnosed with potentially life-threatening infections or conditions, including 3 with Plasmodium falciparum malaria and 1 with diabetic ketoacidosis.Conclusions.
In addition to preparing for potential patients with EVD, Ebola assessment centers should consider other life-threatening conditions requiring urgent treatment, and travelers to affected countries should be strongly advised to seek pretravel counseling. Furthermore, attention to infection control in all aspects of PUI evaluation is paramount and has presented unique challenges. Lessons learned from our evaluation of potential patients with EVD can help inform preparations for future outbreaks of highly pathogenic communicable diseases.Links
Pub Type(s)
Journal Article
Language
eng
PubMed ID
26925428
Citation
Fairley, Jessica K., et al. "Ebola or Not? Evaluating the Ill Traveler From Ebola-Affected Countries in West Africa." Open Forum Infectious Diseases, vol. 3, no. 1, 2016, pp. ofw005.
Fairley JK, Kozarsky PE, Kraft CS, et al. Ebola or Not? Evaluating the Ill Traveler From Ebola-Affected Countries in West Africa. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2016;3(1):ofw005.
Fairley, J. K., Kozarsky, P. E., Kraft, C. S., Guarner, J., Steinberg, J. P., Anderson, E., Jacob, J. T., Meloy, P., Gillespie, D., Espinoza, T. R., Isakov, A., Vanairsdale, S., Baker, E., & Wu, H. M. (2016). Ebola or Not? Evaluating the Ill Traveler From Ebola-Affected Countries in West Africa. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 3(1), ofw005. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofw005
Fairley JK, et al. Ebola or Not? Evaluating the Ill Traveler From Ebola-Affected Countries in West Africa. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2016;3(1):ofw005. PubMed PMID: 26925428.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR
T1 - Ebola or Not? Evaluating the Ill Traveler From Ebola-Affected Countries in West Africa.
AU - Fairley,Jessica K,
AU - Kozarsky,Phyllis E,
AU - Kraft,Colleen S,
AU - Guarner,Jeannette,
AU - Steinberg,James P,
AU - Anderson,Evan,
AU - Jacob,Jesse T,
AU - Meloy,Patrick,
AU - Gillespie,Darria,
AU - Espinoza,Tamara R,
AU - Isakov,Alexander,
AU - Vanairsdale,Sharon,
AU - Baker,Esther,
AU - Wu,Henry M,
Y1 - 2016/01/18/
PY - 2015/10/02/received
PY - 2016/01/12/accepted
PY - 2016/3/1/entrez
PY - 2016/3/1/pubmed
PY - 2016/3/1/medline
KW - Ebola virus disease
KW - clinical screening
KW - fever
KW - travel medicine
SP - ofw005
EP - ofw005
JF - Open forum infectious diseases
JO - Open Forum Infect Dis
VL - 3
IS - 1
N2 - Background. The 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa had global impact beyond the primarily affected countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Other countries, including the United States, encountered numerous patients who arrived from highly affected countries with fever or other signs or symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease (EVD). Methods. We describe our experience evaluating 25 travelers who met the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case definition for a person under investigation (PUI) for EVD from July 20, 2014 to January 28, 2015. All patients were triaged and evaluated under the guidance of institutional protocols to the emergency department, outpatient tropical medicine clinic, or Emory's Ebola treatment unit. Strict attention to infection control and early involvement of public health authorities guided the safe evaluation of these patients. Results. None were diagnosed with EVD. Respiratory illnesses were common, and 8 (32%) PUI were confirmed to have influenza. Four patients (16%) were diagnosed with potentially life-threatening infections or conditions, including 3 with Plasmodium falciparum malaria and 1 with diabetic ketoacidosis. Conclusions. In addition to preparing for potential patients with EVD, Ebola assessment centers should consider other life-threatening conditions requiring urgent treatment, and travelers to affected countries should be strongly advised to seek pretravel counseling. Furthermore, attention to infection control in all aspects of PUI evaluation is paramount and has presented unique challenges. Lessons learned from our evaluation of potential patients with EVD can help inform preparations for future outbreaks of highly pathogenic communicable diseases.
SN - 2328-8957
UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/26925428/full_citation
L2 - https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/ofid/ofw005
DB - PRIME
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -