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Volume 25, Number 5—May 2019
Research

Serologic Prevalence of Ebola Virus in Equatorial Africa

Imke Steffen1, Kai Lu, Lauren K. Yamamoto, Nicole A. Hoff, Prime Mulembakani, Emile O. Wemakoy, Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, Nicaise Ndembi, Catherine A. Brennan, John Hackett, Susan L. Stramer, William M. Switzer, Sentob Saragosti, Guy O. Mbensa, Syria Laperche, Anne W. Rimoin, and Graham SimmonsComments to Author 
Author affiliations: Vitalant Research Institute, San Francisco, California, USA (I. Steffen, K. Lu, L.K. Yamamoto, G. Simmons); University of California, San Francisco (I. Steffen, K. Lu, G. Simmons); University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA (N.A. Hoff, A.W. Rimoin); University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (P. Mulembakani, E.O. Wemakoy); Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale, Kinshasa (J.-J. Muyembe-Tamfum); Institute of Human Virology, Abuja, Nigeria (N. Ndembi); Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, Illinois, USA (C.A. Brennan, J. Hackett Jr.); American Red Cross Scientific Support Office, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA (S.L. Stramer); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (W.M. Switzer); Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 941, Paris, France (S. Saragosti); Centre National de Transfusion Sanguine, Kinshasa (G.O. Mbensa); Institut National de la Transfusion Sanguine, Paris (S. Laperche)

Main Article

Table

Assay results for study of serologic prevalence of Ebola virus in equatorial Africa*

Country City Risk group Collection period No. samples No. (%) EBOV neut+ No. (%) EBOV LIPS+ No. (%) EBOV ELISA+/no. tested No. (%) EBOV confirmed 95% CI, %†
Uganda Unknown AIDS 1997 106 0 1 (0.9) 0/1 0 0–1 (0–0.9)
Cameroon Unknown AIDS 1997 96 0 4 (4.2) 0/4 0 0–4 (0–4.2)
Ghana Unknown AIDS 1997 48 0 0 0/0 0 0
Cameroon All locations Illness of unknown etiology 2011–2012 160 2 (1.3) 4 (2.5) 2/6 (33.3) 2 (1.3) 0–6 (0–3.8)
Cameroon Djoum Illness of unknown etiology 2011–2012 35 0 1 (2.9) 0/1 0 0–1 (0–2.9)
Cameroon Ebolowa Illness of unknown etiology 2011–2012 80 0 1 (1.3) 0/1 0 0–1 (0–1.3)
Cameroon Sangmelima lllness of unknown etiology 2011–2012 45 2 (4.4) 2 (4.4) 2/4 (50.0) 2 (4.4) 2–4 (4.4–8.9)
ROC All locations HIV surveillance 1999 458 4 (0.9) 9 (2.0) 9/13 (69.2) 9 (2.0) 0–13 (0–2.8)
ROC Madingou HIV surveillance 1999 149 1 (0.7) 1 (0.7) 1/2 (50.0) 1 (0.7) 0–2 (0–1.3)
ROC Nkayi HIV surveillance 1999 149 0 3 (2.0) 3/3 (100.0) 3 (2.0) 0–3 (0–2.0)
ROC Owando HIV surveillance 1999 160 3 (1.9) 5 (3.1) 5/8 (62.5) 5 (3.1) 0–8 (0–5.0)
DRC Kinshasa Blood donors 2011–2012 752 12 (1.6) 38 (5.1) 8/38 (21.1) 15 (2.0) 5–38 (0.7–5.1)
DRC Kasaï Oriental Monkeypox surveillance 2007 810 15 (1.9) 52 (6.4) 15/54 (27.8) 27 (3.3) 1–54 (0.1–6.7)
Total NA NA 1997–2012 2,430 33 (1.4) 108 (4.4) 34/116 (29.3) 53 (2.2) 6–116 (0.3–4.8)

*Confirmed seroprevalence rates are based on reactivity in >2 different assay formats. DRC, Democratic Republic of the Congo; EBOV, Ebola virus; LIPS, luciferase immunoprecipitation system; NA, not applicable; neut, neutralization assay; ROC, Republic of the Congo; +, positive.
†Based on number of samples reactive in all 3 assays to number of samples reactive in a single assay (values in parentheses).

Main Article

1Current affiliation: University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.

Page created: April 17, 2019
Page updated: April 17, 2019
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