Major articleNosocomial transmission of Ebola virus disease on pediatric and maternity wards: Bombali and Tonkolili, Sierra Leone, 2014
Section snippets
Bombali district
On October 8, 2014, a 29-month-old child presented with vomiting and fatigue to the pediatric outpatient center of the district's government hospital. The patient did not meet the EVD screening case definition and therefore was admitted to the general pediatric ward, where he was treated for malaria. The patient developed diarrhea later that day. On October 10, he developed fever, rash, red eyes, and melena. The patient died October 13 on the pediatric ward. Given the patient's symptoms, the
Tonkolili district
A 25-year-old full term pregnant woman presented with labor pains to her community maternity clinic on October 7, 2014. On October 9, she was transferred to the maternity ward of a general hospital due to prolonged labor where she was observed for 5 days. On October 14, the patient gave birth to a live newborn via an uncomplicated cesarean section for prolonged labor. Two days later, on October 16, she reported feeling febrile and had 1 episode of vomiting. The following day, October 17, the
Discussion
Unidentified EVD patients in non-EVD health care facilities present a significant health risk to health care workers, caregivers, and other patients.6 Effective infection prevention and control measures to reduce the risk of nosocomial transmission to health care workers and patients include improved disease screening, isolation of suspect case patients, facility engineering controls, and adherence to recommended PPE.4 In the outbreaks we describe, screening at the time of admission did not
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ACD and TAW contributed equally to this work.
The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated.
Conflicts of interest: None.