Anecdotal reports suggested that human illness consistent with a viral hemorrhagic fever arose in Bundibugyo District as early as August 2007. After EHF was confirmed (13), isolation wards were established at 2 medical facilities in the district. Diagnostic samples from hospitalized patients with acute illness and community residents who had febrile illnesses and multiple additional signs, symptoms, or epidemiologic exposures suggestive of EHF, were routinely collected for EBOV testing. These signs and symptoms included headache, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, conjunctivitis, skin rash, muscle pain, fatigue, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, hiccups, bleeding, unexplained death, or contact with a patient with suspected EHF. A laboratory-confirmed case of EHF was defined as illness in a person whose diagnostic samples were found positive for EBOV infection by any of the following tests: PCR (13), virus isolation, antigen detection, or immunoglobulin (Ig) M ELISA (14,15).

In addition, in a subset of surviving persons who had a history of illness consistent with EHF but no acute-phase blood samples available for testing, a convalescent-phase blood sample was collected for laboratory confirmation by IgG ELISA (14, 15). Laboratory testing was performed at the Uganda Viral Research Institute in Entebbe, and subsequent testing was performed on some samples at CDC, Atlanta. This analysis is limited to laboratory-confirmed EHF cases, although additional suspected cases were identified during the outbreak.

Figure

Figure. Number of laboratory-confirmed Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) cases diagnosed on the basis of positive acute-phase or convalescent-phase diagnostic samples and calculation of proportion of deaths among case-patients who had an acute-phase...

Fifty-six confirmed cases of EHF were identified; 43 of these were diagnosed on the basis of positive test results from acute-phase specimens (Figure). Twenty-six patients had a positive EBOV IgG titer in convalescent-phase serum, including 13 persons who had evidence of EBOV infection in acute-phase and convalescent-phase samples.

The proportion of deaths during this outbreak was calculated for case-patients confirmed on the basis of an acute-phase diagnostic sample (those who only had a convalescent-phase sample are by definition surviving case-patients, and represent a biased sample). Of the 43 cases confirmed from acute-phase samples, 17 deaths occurred, for a proportion of 40%. The mean age of those who died (42 years, range 20–70 years) was significantly higher than that of survivors (33 years, range 12–50 years; p = 0.0390). No gender bias was observed between survivors and those who died (Table).

Signs and symptoms were reported by patients on standardized surveillance case-report forms at the time of case identification, and in some instances, were examined further by chart review or follow-up interview. Common symptoms among patients with laboratory-confirmed cases included fever, fatigue, headache, nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, muscle/joint pain, diarrhea, and anorexia/weight loss (Table). No difference in the proportion of those reporting signs and symptoms, or between those who survived and those who died was noted, except for difficulty swallowing. This symptom was more common among case-patients who died (though marginally significant, p = 0.0851). Bleeding of any type (bleeding from injection site, gums, eyes, nose, vagina; black or bloody stool; bloody vomitus; or hematuria) was reported among 54% of all patients with laboratory-confirmed cases.

As part of the standardized surveillance case-report form, patients were also asked whether they had had contact with a sick person during the 3 weeks before development of illness. A large portion of the laboratory-confirmed case-patients in this outbreak reported direct contact with a specific person, (case X), who died of a severe hemorrhagic febrile illness consistent with EHF (no diagnostic specimens were collected from this person) in November 2007. Using the date of last contact for those reporting contact with case X or reporting contact with another laboratory-confirmed case-patient to the date of symptom onset, we calculated an average incubation period of 6.3 days among laboratory-confirmed EHF case-patients (n = 24). No significant difference was noted in the incubation period between survivors (5.7 days) and those who died (7.4 days).

The 2007 outbreak of EHF in Bundibugyo District, Uganda, was caused by a new EBOV species, Bundibugyo ebolavirus (13). Previous outbreaks of EHF have resulted in high proportion of deaths, ranging from 50% to 90% (1–5). The case fatality proportion of deaths among case-patients with EHF confirmed by acute diagnostic specimens in this outbreak was 40%, a lower percentage than for other species of EBOV that have caused human outbreaks in Africa. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the lower proportion of deaths in this outbreak is an artifact of differences in the severity of laboratory-confirmed cases detected through outbreak surveillance or the quality of care received by hospitalized laboratory-confirmed EHF case-patients in Bundibugyo District. Nonetheless, sustained person-to-person transmission was sufficient to result in a sizeable outbreak, and death was clearly not uncommon. Thus, BEBOV should be considered a pathogen of serious public health concern.

As with previously documented EHF outbreaks, older age appeared to be a risk factor for death (3). The incubation period of EHF was ≈1 week, and signs and symptoms were largely nonspecific; infections frequently involved fever, fatigue, headache, gastrointestinal involvement, and muscle and joint pain. The nonspecific nature of these signs and symptoms, which may mimic other tropical diseases, made diagnosis of EHF based on clinical characteristics alone particularly challenging and underscores the importance of laboratory-based diagnostics to confirm and monitor control and response efforts for EHF outbreaks. Notably, signs and symptoms described in this report are primarily based on information from patient surveillance case-report forms filled out at the time of triage, and they may not represent the full spectrum of illness experienced by all persons with EHF during this outbreak.

It is apparent that novel emerging infections continue to occur. The outbreak of EHF described in this report involved a previously unidentified EBOV species, with a proportion of deaths of 40%. BEBOV represents the fourth EBOV species–associated disease in humans, and the third species to cause large human outbreaks of EHF. Although proportion of deaths was lower than that documented in previous EHF outbreaks, BEBOV is a severe human pathogen with epidemic potential. These findings demonstrate the need for increased surveillance and diagnostic capabilities, as well as the capacity to respond quickly to emerging human infections.