Open Access BASE2021

Ebola Virus Transmission Initiated by Systemic Ebola Virus Disease Relapse

Mbala-Kingebeni, Placide; Pratt, Catherine; Ruffin, Mbusa Mutafali; Pauthner, Matthias G; Bile, Faustin; Nkuba Ndaye, Antoine; Black, Allison; Kinganda Lusamaki, Eddy; Faye, Martin; Aziza, Amuri; Diagne, Moussa M; Mukadi, Daniel; White, Bailey; Hadfield, James; Gangavarapu, Karthik; Bisento, Nella; Kazadi, Donatien; Nsunda, Bibiche; Akonga, Marceline; Tshiani, Olivier; Misasi, John; Ploquin, Aurelie; Epaso, Victor; Sana Paka, Emilia; N'kasar, Yannick Tutu Tshia; Mambu, Fabrice; Edidi, Francois; Matondo, Meris; Bula Bula, Junior; Diallo, Boubacar; Keita, Mory; Belizaire, Marie Roseline Darnycka; Fall, Ibrahima Soce; Yam, Abdoulaye; Sabue, Mulangu; Rimion, Anne W; Salfati, Elias; Torkamani, Ali; Suchard, Marc A; Crozier, Ian; Hensley, Lisa; Rambaut, Andrew; Faye, Ousmane; Sall, Amadou; Sullivan, Nancy J; Bedford, Trevor; Andersen, Kristian G; Wiley, Michael R; Ahuka-Mundeke, Steve; Muyembe Tamfum, Jean-Jacques

Zugriff(Open Access)

Abstract

During the 2018-2020 Nord Kivu Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an individual who had received the Merck rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine was diagnosed with EVD. His treatment included an Ebola virus-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb114), and he recovered within 14 days but re-presented six months later with severe EVD-like illness and Ebola virus viremia and died. We initiated an epidemiological and genomic investigation that showed the patient had a relapse of acute EVD, which led to a transmission chain that resulted in 91 cases spanning six health zones over four-months.