Transmission dynamics and control of Ebola virus disease (EVD): a review

Abstract

The complex and unprecedented Ebola epidemic ongoing in West Africa has highlighted the need to review the epidemiological characteristics of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) as well as our current understanding of the transmission dynamics and the effect of control interventions against Ebola transmission. Here we review key epidemiological data from past Ebola outbreaks and carry out a comparative review of mathematical models of the spread and control of Ebola in the context of past outbreaks and the ongoing epidemic in West Africa. We show that mathematical modeling offers useful insights into the risk of a major epidemic of EVD and the assessment of the impact of basic public health measures on disease spread. We also discuss the critical need to collect detailed epidemiological data in real-time during the course of an ongoing epidemic, carry out further studies to estimate the effectiveness of interventions during past outbreaks and the ongoing epidemic, and develop large-scale modeling studies to study the spread and control of viral hemorrhagic fevers in the context of the highly heterogeneous economic reality of African countries.

Cited by papers we hold 5

• Assessing bias in susceptible–infected–recovered estimation from aggregated epidemic data · 2025
  Not checked
• Protective population behavior change in outbreaks of emerging infectious disease · 2021
  Not checked
• Complexity of the Basic Reproduction Number (R 0 ) · 2019
  No notice
• Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): Ebola virus disease · 2017
  Not checked
• Avoidable errors in the modelling of outbreaks of emerging pathogens, with special reference to Ebola · 2015
  No notice

Reads

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.