Rapid drop in the reproduction number during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DOI
Publisher DOI
PubMed ID
26618087
Abstract
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) experienced a confined rural outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) with 69 reported cases from July to October 2014. Understanding the transmission dynamics during the outbreak can provide important information for anticipating and controlling future EVD epidemics. I fitted an EVD transmission model to previously published data of this outbreak and estimated the basic reproduction number R 0 = 5.2 (95% CI [4.0-6.7]). The model suggests that the net reproduction number Rt fell below unity 28 days (95% CI [25-34] days) after the onset of symptoms in the index case. This study adds to previous epidemiological descriptions of the 2014 EVD outbreak in DRC, and is consistent with the notion that a rapid implementation of control interventions helped reduce further spread.
Date Issued
2015-11-19
Publication Type
Article
Subject(s)
Subjects
Basic reproduction number Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola virus disease Mathematical model Outbreak
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Additional Credits
Journal
PeerJ
Publisher
PeerJ, Ltd
ISSN
2167-8359
Access(Rights)
open.access
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