Marburg virus disease: A summary for clinicians.

Objectives: This article summarizes the countermeasures for Marburg virus disease, focusing on pathogenesis, clinical features and diagnostics. There is an emphasis on therapies and vaccines that have demonstrated, through their evaluation in nonhuman primates (NHPs) and/or in humans, potential for use in an emergency situation.

Methods: A standardized literature review was conducted on vaccines and treatments for Marburg virus disease, with a focus on human and nonhuman primate data published in the last five years.

Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 - Final Report.

Background: Although several therapeutic agents have been evaluated for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), no antiviral agents have yet been shown to be efficacious.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of intravenous remdesivir in adults who were hospitalized with Covid-19 and had evidence of lower respiratory tract infection. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either remdesivir (200 mg loading dose on day 1, followed by 100 mg daily for up to 9 additional days) or placebo for up to 10 days.

A comprehensive district-level laboratory intervention after the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone.

Background: The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak exposed the poor laboratory systems in Sierra Leone. Immense needs were recognised across all areas, from facilities, diagnostic capacity, supplies, trained personnel to quality assurance mechanisms.

Objective: We aimed to describe the first year of a comprehensive intervention, which started in 2015, in a public hospital's general laboratory serving a population of over 500 000 in a rural district.

Ebola Virus Persistence in Ocular Tissues and Fluids (EVICT) Study: Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction and Cataract Surgery Outcomes of Ebola Survivors in Sierra Leone.

Background: Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors are at risk for uveitis during convalescence. Vision loss has been observed following uveitis due to cataracts. Since Ebola virus (EBOV) may persist in the ocular fluid of EVD survivors for an unknown duration, there are questions about the safety and feasibility of vision restorative cataract surgery in EVD survivors.

Anatomy of a Hotspot: Chain and Seroepidemiology of Ebola Virus Transmission, Sukudu, Sierra Leone, 2015-16.

Studies have yet to include minimally symptomatic Ebola virus (EBOV) infections and unrecognized Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Ebola-related transmission chains and epidemiologic risk estimates. We conducted a cross-sectional, sero-epidemiological survey from October 2015 to January 2016 among 221 individuals living in quarantined households from November 2014 to February 2015 during the Ebola outbreak in the village of Sukudu, Sierra Leone. Of 48 EBOV-infected persons, 25% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14%-40%) had minimally symptomatic EBOV infections and 4% (95% CI, 1%-14%) were unrecognized EVD cases.

Minimally Symptomatic Infection in an Ebola 'Hotspot': A Cross-Sectional Serosurvey.

Introduction: Evidence for minimally symptomatic Ebola virus (EBOV) infection is limited. During the 2013-16 outbreak in West Africa, it was not considered epidemiologically relevant to published models or projections of intervention effects. In order to improve our understanding of the transmission dynamics of EBOV in humans, we investigated the occurrence of minimally symptomatic EBOV infection in quarantined contacts of reported Ebola virus disease cases in a recognized 'hotspot.

Strengthening Health Systems While Responding to a Health Crisis: Lessons Learned by a Nongovernmental Organization During the Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic in Sierra Leone.

An epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) beginning in 2013 has claimed an estimated 11 310 lives in West Africa. As the EVD epidemic subsides, it is important for all who participated in the emergency Ebola response to reflect on strengths and weaknesses of the response. Such reflections should take into account perspectives not usually included in peer-reviewed publications and after-action reports, including those from the public sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), survivors of Ebola, and Ebola-affected households and communities.

Improved Detection of Tuberculosis and Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis among Tibetan Refugees, India.

The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) among Tibetan refugees in India is 431 cases/100,000 persons, compared with 181 cases/100,000 persons overall in India in 2010. More than half of TB cases in these refugees occur among students, monks, and nuns in congregate settings. We sought to increase TB case detection rates for this population through active case finding and rapid molecular diagnostics.

Hepatitis B prevalence and treatment needs among Tibetan refugees residing in India.

Untreated chronic hepatitis B can lead to liver failure and/or liver cancer. These complications can be avoided through prevention with vaccination or treatment of disease. To inform health policy for the Tibetan community in India, we conducted study of hepatitis B prevalence and treatment needs.

Early clinical sequelae of Ebola virus disease in Sierra Leone: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Limited data are available on the prevalence and predictors of clinical sequelae in survivors of Ebola virus disease (EVD). The EVD Survivor Clinic in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, has provided clinical care for 603 of 661 survivors living in the district. We did a cross-sectional study to describe the prevalence, nature, and predictors of three key EVD sequelae (ocular, auditory, and articular) in this cohort of EVD survivors.

Genotypic anomaly in Ebola virus strains circulating in Magazine Wharf area, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 2015.

The Magazine Wharf area, Freetown, Sierra Leone was a focus of ongoing Ebola virus transmission from late June 2015. Viral genomes linked to this area contain a series of 13 T to C substitutions in a 150 base pair intergenic region downstream of viral protein 40 open reading frame, similar to the Ebolavirus/H.sapiens-wt/SLE/2014/Makona-J0169 strain (J0169) detected in the same town in November 2014.

First report of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in a systemic lupus erythematosus patient.

Background: Treatment of a multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patient is clinically challenging, requiring a minimum of 18 months of therapy. Its occurrence in a systemic lupus erythromatosus (SLE) patient may complicate management of both MDR-TB and SLE. This is the first descriptive report of MDR-TB in an SLE patient.

Human immunodeficiency virus-associated tuberculosis: update on prevention and treatment.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of opportunistic infection and mortality among HIV-infected persons. Screening for symptoms of TB in people with HIV infection, use of isoniazid preventive therapy for those with latent TB infection, earlier diagnosis and treatment of active TB disease, and early initiation of antiretroviral therapy are essential for controlling the spread of TB. Treatment of HIV-related TB is complicated by overlapping drug toxicities and drug-drug interactions between antiretroviral therapy and anti-TB therapy and risk for development of immune reconstitution inflammatory disease.

Diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in a liver transplant recipient with central nervous system invasive aspergillosis.

This is a case report of central nervous system (CNS) invasive aspergillosis (IA) in a liver transplant recipient, which illustrates the utility of enzyme-based diagnostic tools for the timely and accurate diagnosis of IA, the treatment challenges and poor outcomes associated with CNS IA in liver transplant recipients.

Lymph node hemophagocytosis in rickettsial diseases: a pathogenetic role for CD8 T lymphocytes in human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME)?

Background: Human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) are caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Rickettsia rickettsii, respectively. The pathogenesis of RMSF relates to rickettsia-mediated vascular injury, but it is unclear in HME.

Methods: To study histopathologic responses in the lymphatic system for correlates of immune injury, lymph nodes from patients with HME (n = 6) and RMSF (n = 5) were examined.

Integrating quantitative and qualitative methodologies for the assessment of health care systems: emergency medicine in post-conflict Serbia.

Background: Due to the complexity of health system reform in the post-conflict, post-disaster, and development settings, attempts to restructure health services are fraught with pitfalls that are often unanticipated because of inadequate preliminary assessments. Our proposed Integrated Multimodal Assessment - combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies - may provide a more robust mechanism for identifying programmatic priorities and critical barriers for appropriate and sustainable health system interventions. The purpose of this study is to describe this novel multimodal assessment using emergency medicine in post-conflict Serbia as a model.

Human monocytic ehrlichiosis.

A 56-year-old man with a history of Wegener granulomatosis presented with 6 days of sinus congestion, fever, malaise, myalgias, episcleritis, and a morbilliform rash. An exacerbation of Wegener granulomatosis was the principal concern because of the frequency of flares in that disease. The patient developed acute renal failure, thrombocytopenia, transaminitis, and, finally, severe myocarditis that led to congestive heart failure.

War-related psychological sequelae among emergency department patients in the former Republic of Yugoslavia.

Background: Residents of the Republic of Serbia faced civil war and a NATO-led bombing campaign in 1999. We sought to assess the burden of metal health dysfunction among emergency department (ED) patients presenting for care three years post-war in Serbia.

Methods: This study was conducted during July and August 2002 at two sites: a university hospital ED in Belgrade, Serbia and an ED in a remote district hospital serving a Serbian enclave in Laplje Selo, Kosovo.