Isolated Ebola Cases Hard to Diagnose, Go Undetected

Wide availability of infection control and diagnostic resources is required to control outbreaks early.

munya makoni
| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share

ABOVE: © ISTOCK.COM, ZMEEL

Half of isolated Ebola cases have gone undetected since the disease was first discovered in 1976, according to an analysis of outbreaks by scientists published last week (June 13) in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The virus circulates in wildlife all the time, and the rate of such spillover is intimately linked with its public health consequences. But it’s unclear how often it happens. By modelling patterns of Ebola outbreaks, the team estimated that many spillover events are overlooked entirely.

“We estimate that outbreaks are unlikely to be detected within their first few cases, and this has important public health consequences,” says lead author Emma Glennon, a disease ecologist at the University of Cambridge.

People with undocumented cases of Ebola most likely die of the disease as they don’t receive care at health facilities, says Yap Boum, regional representative of the Uganda-based Epicenter Africa, the research arm ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • munya makoni

    Munyaradzi Makoni

    Munyaradzi is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa. He covers agriculture, climate change, environment, health, higher education, sustainable development, and science in general. Among other outlets, his work has appeared in Hakai magazine, Nature, Physics World, Science, SciDev.net, The Lancet, The Scientist, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and University World News.

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide