Contact Tracing Activities during the Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic in Kindia and Faranah, Guinea, 2014

Abstract

The largest recorded Ebola virus disease epidemic began in March 2014; as of July 2015, it continued in 3 principally affected countries: Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Control efforts include contact tracing to expedite identification of the virus in suspect case-patients. We examined contact tracing activities during September 20-December 31, 2014, in 2 prefectures of Guinea using national and local data about case-patients and their contacts. Results show less than one third of case-patients (28.3% and 31.1%) were registered as contacts before case identification; approximately two thirds (61.1% and 67.7%) had no registered contacts. Time to isolation of suspected case-patients was not immediate (median 5 and 3 days for Kindia and Faranah, respectively), and secondary attack rates varied by relationships of persons who had contact with the source case-patient and the type of case-patient to which a contact was exposed. More complete contact tracing efforts are needed to augment control of this epidemic.

Keywords: Ebola; Ebola virus disease; Guinea; contact tracing; epidemic control; viruses.

Figure 1

Ebola virus disease incidence (confirmed cases per 100,000 population), by prefecture, Guinea, 2014. Distances and driving times for the transport of suspect case-patients from Kindia or Faranah to the nearest Ebola treatment unit are shown (red lines). Data sources: Guinea Ministry of Health; Guinea Ministry of Planning; Database of Global Administrative Areas (GADM); Europa.

Figure 2

Community deaths by burial type for case-patients with confirmed and probable cases of Ebola virus disease in Kindia and Faranah, by epidemiological week, Guinea, 2014. Safe burial was defined as placement of the body in an impermeable bag and interment by a team wearing personal protective equipment (9).