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. 2014 Sep 2:6:ecurrents.outbreaks.91afb5e0f279e7f29e7056095255b288.
doi: 10.1371/currents.outbreaks.91afb5e0f279e7f29e7056095255b288.

Estimating the Reproduction Number of Ebola Virus (EBOV) During the 2014 Outbreak in West Africa

Christian L Althaus  1
Affiliations

Estimating the Reproduction Number of Ebola Virus (EBOV) During the 2014 Outbreak in West Africa

Christian L Althaus. PLoS Curr. .

Abstract

The 2014 Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreak in West Africa is the largest outbreak of the genus Ebolavirus to date. To better understand the spread of infection in the affected countries, it is crucial to know the number of secondary cases generated by an infected index case in the absence and presence of control measures, i.e., the basic and effective reproduction number. In this study, I describe the EBOV epidemic using an SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered) model and fit the model to the most recent reported data of infected cases and deaths in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The maximum likelihood estimates of the basic reproduction number are 1.51 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50-1.52) for Guinea, 2.53 (95% CI: 2.41-2.67) for Sierra Leone and 1.59 (95% CI: 1.57-1.60) for Liberia. The model indicates that in Guinea and Sierra Leone the effective reproduction number might have dropped to around unity by the end of May and July 2014, respectively. In Liberia, however, the model estimates no decline in the effective reproduction number by end-August 2014. This suggests that control efforts in Liberia need to be improved substantially in order to stop the current outbreak.

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Figures

Dynamics of 2014 EBOV outbreaks in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Dynamics of 2014 EBOV outbreaks in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Data of the cumulative numbers of infected cases and deaths are shown as red circles and black squares, respectively. The lines represent the best-fit model to the data. Note that the scale of the axes differ between countries.
Effective reproduction number of EBOV in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Effective reproduction number of EBOV in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The model assumes that the transmission rate decays exponentially due to the introduction of control measures. In Guinea and Sierra Leone, the effective reproduction number has dropped to around unity by the end of May and July 2014, respectively (dashed lines). In Liberia, the effective reproduction number remains unchanged by end-August 2014. Note that the scale of the x-axis differs between countries.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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