Long-term disease surveillance in Bandundu region, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a model for early detection and prevention of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

After the large-scale outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Bandundu region, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a program was developed to help detect and prevent future outbreaks of EHF in the region. The long-term surveillance and prevention strategy is based on early recognition by physicians, immediate initiation of enhanced barrier-nursing practices, and the use of an immunohistochemical diagnostic test performed on formalin-fixed skin specimens of patients who die of suspected viral hemorrhagic fever. The program was implemented in September 1995 during a 4-day workshop with 28 local physicians representing 17 of 22 health zones in the region.

Serologic survey among hospital and health center workers during the Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995.

From May to July 1995, a serologic and interview survey was conducted to describe Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) among personnel working in 5 hospitals and 26 health care centers in and around Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Job-specific attack rates estimated for Kikwit General Hospital, the epicenter of the EHF epidemic, were 31% for physicians, 11% for technicians/room attendants, 10% for nurses, and 4% for other workers. Among 402 workers who did not meet the EHF case definition, 12 had borderline positive antibody test results; subsequent specimens from 4 of these tested negative.

Human monkeypox in Kasai Oriental, Zaire (1996-1997).

Monkeypox is an orthopoxvirus with enzootic circulation in the rainforests of central and western Africa; the virus can be transmitted to humans and cause a syndrome clinically similar to smallpox (e.g., pustular rash, fever, respiratory symptoms, and in