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Review
. 2016 Oct 27;10(10):e0004948.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004948. eCollection 2016 Oct.

Diagnostics in Ebola Virus Disease in Resource-Rich and Resource-Limited Settings

Robert J Shorten  1   2 , Colin S Brown  3   4 , Michael Jacobs  5 , Simon Rattenbury  5 , Andrew J Simpson  2   6 , Stephen Mepham  5
Affiliations
Review

Diagnostics in Ebola Virus Disease in Resource-Rich and Resource-Limited Settings

Robert J Shorten et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa was unprecedented in scale and location. Limited access to both diagnostic and supportive pathology assays in both resource-rich and resource-limited settings had a detrimental effect on the identification and isolation of cases as well as individual patient management. Limited access to such assays in resource-rich settings resulted in delays in differentiating EVD from other illnesses in returning travellers, in turn utilising valuable resources until a diagnosis could be made. This had a much greater impact in West Africa, where it contributed to the initial failure to contain the outbreak. This review explores diagnostic assays of use in EVD in both resource-rich and resource-limited settings, including their respective limitations, and some novel assays and approaches that may be of use in future outbreaks.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The laboratory isolator at the HLIU of the Royal Free Hospital, London.
Image Credit: David C Bishop.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Layout of POC analysers within the laboratory isolator at the HLIU of the Royal Free Hospital, London.
Image Credit: David C Bishop.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Public Health England Laboratory at the Kerry Town ETC, Sierra Leone.
The POC analysers are situated in the isolator in the foreground. The isolator in the background is used for virus inactivation and RNA extraction. Image supplied by A. J. Simpson.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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MeSH terms