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Volume 22, Number 2—February 2016
Dispatch

The Merits of Malaria Diagnostics during an Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak

Emmie de Wit, Darryl Falzarano1, Clayton Onyango, Kyle Rosenke, Andrea Marzi, Melvin Ochieng, Bonventure Juma, Robert J. Fischer, Joseph B. Prescott, David Safronetz2, Victor Omballa, Collins Owuor, Thomas Hoenen3, Allison Groseth3, Neeltje van Doremalen, Galina Zemtsova, Joshua Self, Trenton Bushmaker, Kristin McNally, Thomas Rowe, Shannon L. Emery, Friederike Feldmann, Brandi Williamson, Tolbert G. Nyenswah, Allen Grolla, James E. Strong, Gary Kobinger, Ute Stroeher, Mark Rayfield, Fatorma K. Bolay, Kathryn C. Zoon, Jorgen Stassijns, Livia Tampellini, Martin de Smet, Stuart T. Nichol, Barry Fields, Armand Sprecher, Heinz Feldmann, Moses Massaquoi, and Vincent J. MunsterComments to Author 
Author affiliations: National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA (E. de Wit, D. Falzarano, K. Rosenke, A. Marzi, R.J. Fischer, J.B. Prescott, D. Safronetz, T. Hoenen, A. Groseth, N. van Doremalen, T. Bushmaker, K. McNally, F. Feldmann, B. Williamson, H. Feldmann, V.J. Munster); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nairobi, Kenya (C. Onyango, B. Juma, B. Fields); Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi (M. Ochieng, V. Omballa, C. Owuor); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (G. Zemtsova, J. Self, T. Rowe, S.L. Emery, U. Stroeher, M. Rayfield, S.T. Nichol); Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Monrovia, Liberia (T.G. Nyenswah, M. Massaquoi); Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (A. Grolla, J.E. Strong, G. Kobinger); Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research, Charlesville, Liberia (F.K. Bolay); National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA (K.C. Zoon); Médecins Sans Frontières, Brussels, Belgium (J. Stassijns, L. Tampellini, M. de Smet, A. Sprecher)

Main Article

Figure 1

Prevalence of Ebola virus (EBOV) and Plasmodium spp. RNA in patient samples submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–National Institutes of Health diagnostic laboratory at the Eternal Love Winning Africa campus in Monrovia, Liberia, from October 12, 2014 (epidemiologic week 42), through March 28, 2015 (week 13). Whole blood samples were inactivated, and RNA was extracted by using the QIAAmp Viral RNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany). These samples were then tested for the pr

Figure 1. Prevalence of Ebola virus (EBOV) and Plasmodium spp. RNA in patient samples submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–National Institutes of Health diagnostic laboratory at the Eternal Love Winning Africa campus in Monrovia, Liberia, from October 12, 2014 (epidemiologic week 42), through March 28, 2015 (week 13). Whole blood samples were inactivated, and RNA was extracted by using the QIAAmp Viral RNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany). These samples were then tested for the presence of EBOV RNA and Plasmodium spp. RNA by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) (13). A) Number of patients, as determined by qRT-PCR, positive for EBOV, Plasmodium spp., both, or neither (i.e., no EBOV and no Plasmodium spp.), by epidemiologic week. B) Total number of patients receiving a laboratory diagnosis of Ebola viremia, Plasmodium spp. parasitemia, both, or neither. C) A subset of 311 Plasmodium spp. qRT-PCR–positive samples that were retested with a qRT-PCR specific for P. falciparum (14).

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1Current affiliation: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

2Current affiliation: Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

3Current affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.

Page created: January 15, 2016
Page updated: January 15, 2016
Page reviewed: January 15, 2016
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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