Transmission of Ebola Viruses: What We Know and What We Do Not Know

Available evidence demonstrates that direct patient contact and contact with infectious body fluids are the primary modes for Ebola virus transmission, but this is based on a limited number of studies. Key areas requiring further study include (i) the role of aerosol transmission (either via large d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:mBio Vol. 6; no. 2; p. e00137
Main Authors: Osterholm, Michael T., Moore, Kristine A., Kelley, Nicholas S., Brosseau, Lisa M., Wong, Gary, Murphy, Frederick A., Peters, Clarence J., LeDuc, James W., Russell, Phillip K., Van Herp, Michel, Kapetshi, Jimmy, Muyembe, Jean-Jacques T., Ilunga, Benoit Kebela, Strong, James E., Grolla, Allen, Wolz, Anja, Kargbo, Brima, Kargbo, David K., Formenty, Pierre, Sanders, David Avram, Kobinger, Gary P.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 01.05.2015
American Society of Microbiology
Subjects:
aerosols
Africa, Western - epidemiology
Animals
Asymptomatic
Body fluids
disease outbreaks
Disease transmission
Disease Transmission, Infectious
Domestic animals
droplets
Ebola virus
Ebolavirus
Ebolavirus - isolation & purification
Epidemics
fomites
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola - transmission
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola - virology
Humans
Illnesses
Infections
Masks
Medical personnel
Opinion/Hypothesis
Outbreaks
pathogens
Patients
people
pollution
Public health
Respiratory diseases
strain differences
virus transmission
Viruses
Western Africa
Zoonoses - transmission
Zoonoses - virology
Africa, Western
Zaire
West Africa
Sudan
Western Africa
ISSN:2161-2129, 2150-7511, 2150-7511
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Available evidence demonstrates that direct patient contact and contact with infectious body fluids are the primary modes for Ebola virus transmission, but this is based on a limited number of studies. Key areas requiring further study include (i) the role of aerosol transmission (either via large droplets or small particles in the vicinity of source patients), (ii) the role of environmental contamination and fomite transmission, (iii) the degree to which minimally or mildly ill persons transmit infection, (iv) how long clinically relevant infectiousness persists, (v) the role that “superspreading events” may play in driving transmission dynamics, (vi) whether strain differences or repeated serial passage in outbreak settings can impact virus transmission, and (vii) what role sylvatic or domestic animals could play in outbreak propagation, particularly during major epidemics such as the 2013–2015 West Africa situation. In this review, we address what we know and what we do not know about Ebola virus transmission. We also hypothesize that Ebola viruses have the potential to be respiratory pathogens with primary respiratory spread.
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ISSN:2161-2129
2150-7511
2150-7511
DOI:10.1128/mBio.00137-15