Spread Of Ebola Virus Disease Research Articles

A comprehensive analysis of non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccination on Ebolavirus disease outbreak: Stochastic modeling approach.

Ebolavirus disease (EVD) outbreaks have intermittently occurred since the first documented case in the 1970s. Due to its transmission characteristics, large outbreaks have not been observed outside Africa. However, within the continent, significant outbreaks have been attributed to factors such as endemic diseases with similar symptoms and inadequate medical infrastructure, which complicate timely diagnosis. In this study, we employed a stochastic modeling approach to analyze the spread of EVD during the early stages of an outbreak, with an emphasis on inherent risks. We developed a model that considers healthcare workers and unreported cases, and assessed the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) using actual data. Our results indicate that the implementation of NPIs led to a decrease in the transmission rate and infectious period by 30% and 40% respectively, following the declaration of the outbreak. We also investigated the risks associated with delayed outbreak recognition. Our simulations suggest that, when accounting for NPIs and recognition delays, prompt detection could have resulted in a similar outbreak scale, with approximately 50% of the baseline NPIs effect. Finally, we discussed the potential effects of a vaccination strategy as a follow-up measure after the outbreak declaration. Our findings suggest that a vaccination strategy can reduce both the burden of NPIs and the scale of the outbreak.

Ebola Virus Disease Outbreaks: Lessons Learned From Past and Facing Future Challenges.

The purpose of this review is to examine African Ebola outbreaks from their first discovery to the present, to determine how the medical and public health response has changed and identify the causes for those changes. We sought to describe what is now known about the epidemiology and spread of Ebola virus disease (EVD) from the significant outbreaks that have occurred and outbreak control methods applied under often challenging circumstances. Given the substantial role that the U.S. Government and the U.S. DoD have played in the 2014 to 2016 West African Ebola outbreak, the role of the DoD and the U.S. Africa Command in controlling EVD is described. A descriptive method design was used to collect and analyze all available Ebola outbreak literature using the PubMed database. An initial literature search was conducted by searching for, obtaining, and reading original source articles on all major global Ebola outbreaks. To conduct a focused search, we used initial search terms "Ebola outbreak," "Ebola virus disease," "Ebola response," "Ebola countermeasures," and also included each country's name where Ebola cases are known to have occurred. From the 4,673 unique articles obtained from this search and subsequent article title review, 307 articles were identified for potential inclusion. Following abstract and article review, 45 original source articles were used to compile the history of significant Ebola outbreaks. From this compilation, articles focused on each respective subsection of this review to delineate and describe the history of EVD and response, identifying fundamental changes, were obtained and incorporated. We present known Ebola virus and disease attributes, including a general description, seasonality and location, transmission capacity, clinical symptoms, surveillance, virology, historical EVD outbreaks and response, international support for Ebola outbreak response, U.S. DoD support, medical countermeasures supporting outbreak response, remaining gaps to include policy limitations, regional instability, climate change, migration, and urbanization, public health education and infrastructure, and virus persistence and public awareness. The health and societal impacts of EVD on Africa has been far-reaching, with about 35,000 cases and over 15,000 deaths, with small numbers of cases spreading globally. However, the history of combatting EVD reveals that there is considerable hope for African nations to quickly and successfully respond to Ebola outbreaks, through use of endemic resources including Africa CDC and African Partner Outbreak Response Alliance and the U.S. Africa Command with greater DoD reachback. Although there remains much to be learned about the Ebola virus and EVD including whether the potential for novel strains to become deadly emerging infections, invaluable vaccines, antivirals, and public health measures are now part of the resources that can be used to combat this disease.

Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever: An Overview

Ebola virus disease is a rare but severe, often fatal illness in humans. Fruit bats are the natural reservoirs of Ebola virus, and it is transmitted to humans from wild animals and spreads between humans. Ebola virus is a class A bioterrorism agent, known to cause highly lethal haemorrhagic fever. Clinical symptoms include fever, myalgia, headache followed by vomiting, diarrhea, hemorrhagic rash, bleeding, and multi-organ failure. Vaccines to protect against Ebola have been developed and used to control the spread of Ebola virus disease. Treatment is mainly early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment. Ebola virus is a neglected pathogen and the knowledge and scientific information on Ebola virus disease is relatively limited and received little attention. Better understanding of ebolavirus disease mechanisms is needed to guide development of drugs, vaccines, and treatment strategies. Hence this comprehensive review on Ebola virus is undertaken to provide an overview of its transmission, pathogenesis, clinical symptoms, differential diagnosis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment, vaccines and preventive aspects and to highlight its importance, and impact on public health and further research.

Mathematical analysis and simulation of Ebola virus disease spread incorporating mitigation measures

In order to understand the dynamics of the Ebola virus disease (EVD), this research developed a mathematical model that includes quarantine and public education campaigns as control measures. The model’s equilibrium points are displayed and the effective basic reproduction number Reff is estimated. Bifurcation theory is used for the stability analysis of endemic equilibrium state and general bifurcation theory is used to prove the existence of endemic equilibrium state. We evaluated the nature of the endemic equilibrium state of the model’s equation near the disease-free equilibrium, Reff=1 and introduce a bifurcation parameter. The results of the centre manifold theory are used to demonstrate that there is nontrivial endemic equilibrium near the disease-free equilibrium. We demonstrated the characteristics of the endemic equilibrium state that is close to the disease-free equilibrium as well as the fact that there is a potentially unstable endemic equilibrium condition. In other words, the sickness is slowly declining and will eventually disappear, as in the case of West Africa. Finally, we simulated the model developed to study the dynamics of the diseases with varying parameters using Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) to validate the qualitative analysis of the model. The result confirmed the hypothesis of our research that if quarantine and public enlightenment is properly used for the mitigation of the disease, the disease outcomes will drastically reduced. The results presented in this research will be useful for public health experts to contain the Ebola disease spread most especially in Africa.

Resolution for Pandemics Approved by the International Telecommunication Union Plenipotentiary Conference [Past Related Activities and Future Challenges

The ITU adopted a new resolution at its PP Conference held in 2022 in Bucharest, Romania to utilize ICT to combat pandemics and new infectious diseases. In this paper, we have investigated infectious disease-related contributions and declarations at the ITU-D up to the most recent resolution for pandemics, pointed out issues, and offered a concrete outlook. We are pleased that the new resolution on pandemics has been issued, but the specific details regarding infection detection, efforts to prevent infection (PP-22 Resolution 215), and technology content remain insufficient. The risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza infection and the global spread of Ebola virus disease cannot be eliminated. ICT plays a major role in social infrastructure, and its use in health care is rapidly expanding into fields of application. At the next PP Conference, we would like to request that ITU begin to focus on saving more lives by making full use of AI and ICT technology.

A community-based contact isolation strategy to reduce the spread of Ebola virus disease: an analysis of the 2018–2020 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

IntroductionDespite tremendous progress in the development of diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics for Ebola virus disease (EVD), challenges remain in the implementation of holistic strategies to rapidly curtail outbreaks. We investigated...

Estimation of Ebola's spillover infection exposure in Sierra Leone based on sociodemographic and economic factors.

Zoonotic diseases spread through pathogens-infected animal carriers. In the case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), evidence supports that the main carriers are fruit bats and non-human primates. Further, EVD spread is a multi-factorial problem that depends on sociodemographic and economic (SDE) factors. Here we inquire into this phenomenon and aim at determining, quantitatively, the Ebola spillover infection exposure map and try to link it to SDE factors. To that end, we designed and conducted a survey in Sierra Leone and implement a pipeline to analyze data using regression and machine learning techniques. Our methodology is able (1) to identify the features that are best predictors of an individual's tendency to partake in behaviors that can expose them to Ebola infection, (2) to develop a predictive model about the spillover risk statistics that can be calibrated for different regions and future times, and (3) to compute a spillover exposure map for Sierra Leone. Our results and conclusions are relevant to identify the regions in Sierra Leone at risk of EVD spillover and, consequently, to design and implement policies for an effective deployment of resources (e.g., drug supplies) and other preventative measures (e.g., educational campaigns).

On the Dynamics of a Fractional-Order Ebola Epidemic Model with Nonlinear Incidence Rates

We propose a new fractional-order model to investigate the transmission and spread of Ebola virus disease. The proposed model incorporates relevant biological factors that characterize Ebola transmission during an outbreak. In particular, we have assumed that susceptible individuals are capable of contracting the infection from a deceased Ebola patient due to traditional beliefs and customs practiced in many African countries where frequent outbreaks of the disease are recorded. We conducted both epidemic and endemic analysis, with a focus on the threshold dynamics characterized by the basic reproduction number. Model parameters were estimated based on the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. In addition, numerical simulation results are presented to demonstrate the analytical findings.

Numerical computing with Levenberg–Marquardt backpropagation networks for nonlinear SEIR Ebola virus epidemic model

In this study, a new computing technique is introduced to solve the susceptible-exposed-infected-and-recovery (SEIR) Ebola virus model represented with the system of ordinary differential equations through Levenberg–Marquardt backpropagation neural networks. The dynamics of the SEIR model are examined by the variation in different parameters, such as the increase in the susceptible rate while keeping other parameters fixed, such as the natural death rate of susceptibility, susceptible exposed rate, infected exposed rate, and infected to recovered rate; the four types of infected rates, namely, the natural mortality rate, rate of exposed death due to the disease, natural infected mortality rate, and rate of infected death due to the disease; and the rate of natural mortality of the recovered. The datasets for the SEIR nonlinear system for measuring the effects of Ebola virus disease spread dynamics are generated through the Runge–Kutta method for each scenario. The efficiency of the proposed computing technique—LMBNNs—is analyzed through absolute deviation, mean square error, learning curves, histogram analysis, and regression metrics, which provides a way for validation, testing, and training through the scheme.

Perceptions of ebola virus disease among the bambuti hunter group: a mixed-methods study

ABSTRACT The second largest Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 2018–20. The Bambuti, a hunter population in the Ituri Forest of the DRC, may be vulnerable to the zoonotic spread of EVD due to their frequent handling of forest animals. We conducted five focus group discussions and surveyed 113 Bambuti and 91 Bantu (control group), to discern how the Bambuti perceived and responded to EVD. Thematic analysis of focus group discussions revealed three major themes: (1) deprivation and discrimination; (2) mistrust; and (3) epistemic dissonance with public health messages emphasizing risks posed by forest animals. In surveys, 98% of Bambuti were deprived using the multidimensional poverty index (versus 78% of Bantu controls, p < 0.0001) and 77% had no formal education (versus 29% of controls, p < 0.0001). Bambuti were more dependent on wild meat for survival (51% versus 32% of controls, p = 0.008) and more frequently opposed the implementation of a bushmeat ban (48% versus 19% of controls, p < 0.0001). Trust in government was similar among Bambuti and Bantu. Comprehensive EVD knowledge was poor overall, and lower among the Bambuti (2% versus 8% of controls, p = 0.041). Compliance with public health measures was associated with higher levels of education and trust in government but did not differ between Bambuti and Bantu survey respondents. Together, our findings point to a particular vulnerability of the Bambuti to the effects of EVD, attributable at least in part to multidimensional poverty.

What factors promote vaccine hesitancy or acceptance during pandemics? A systematic review and thematic analysis.

Examine the factors that promote vaccine hesitancy or acceptance during pandemics, major epidemics and global outbreaks. A systematic review and thematic analysis of 28 studies on the Influenza A/H1N1 pandemic and the global spread of Ebola Virus Disease. We found seven major factors that promote vaccine hesitancy or acceptance: demographic factors influencing vaccination (ethnicity, age, sex, pregnancy, education, and employment), accessibility and cost, personal responsibility and risk perceptions, precautionary measures taken based on the decision to vaccinate, trust in health authorities and vaccines, the safety and efficacy of a new vaccine, and lack of information or vaccine misinformation. An understanding of participant experiences and perspectives toward vaccines from previous pandemics will greatly inform the development of strategies to address the present situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the impact vaccine hesitancy might have for the introduction and effectiveness of a potential COVID-19 vaccine. In particular, we believe that skepticism toward vaccines can still exist when there are no vaccines available, which is contrary to contemporary conceptualizations of vaccine hesitancy. We recommend conducting further research assessing the relationship between the accessibility and cost of vaccines, and vaccine hesitancy.

SEIR model simulation on the spreading of Ebola virus between two regions

In this study, we formed one of epidemic models that describe the spread of Ebola virus disease between two regions in the mathematical model known as SEIR epidemic model. For constructing the mathematical model, it is necessary to understand the phenomenon of the spread of the Ebola virus such as that the number of infected populations in one region does not only depend on the number of infected individuals in one region but also by individuals traveling from one region to another. Based on this phenomenon, we constructed the SEIR mathematical model to determine the dynamics of the spreading virus. We computed the Basic Reproduction Number to determine the stability of the spreading virus. We applied the numerical simulation using the Runge-Kutta Order 4 method to illustrate the results obtained. The simulation results show that region B has a higher spread than region A, because the number virus transmission in region B is higher than that in region A based on the Basic Reproduction Numbers.

An optimal control model to design strategies for reducing the spread of the Ebola virus disease.

In this work, we formulate an epidemiological model for studying the spread of Ebola virus disease in a considered territory. This model includes the effect of various control measures, such as: vaccination, education campaigns, early detection campaigns, increase of sanitary measures in hospital, quarantine of infected individuals and restriction of movement between geographical areas. Using optimal control theory, we determine an optimal control strategy which aims to reduce the number of infected individuals, according to some operative restrictions (e.g., economical, logistic, etc.). Furthermore, we study the existence and uniqueness of the optimal control. Finally, we illustrate the interest of the obtained results by considering numerical experiments based on real data.

Evaluation of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) preparedness and readiness program in Uganda: 2018 to 2019.

Introductionthe Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared its 10thoutbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in 42 years on August 1st 2018. The rapid rise and spread of the EVD outbreak threatened health security in neighboring countries and global health security. The United Nations developed an EVD preparedness and readiness (EVD-PR) plan to assist the nine neighboring countries to advance their critical preparedness measures. In Uganda, EVD-PR was implemented between 2018 and 2019. The World Health Organization commissioned an independent evaluation to assess the impact of the investment in EVD-PR in Uganda. Objectives: i) to document the program achievements; ii) to determine if the capacities developed represented good value for the funds and resources invested; iii) to assess if more cost-effective or sustainable alternative approaches were available; iv) to explore if the investments were aligned with country public health priorities; and v) to document the factors that contributed to the program success or failure.Methodsduring the EVD preparedness phase, Uganda's government conducted a risk assessment and divided the districts into three categories, based on the potential risk of EVD. Category I included districts that shared a border with the DRC provinces where EVD was ongoing or any other district with a direct transport route to the DRC. Category II were districts that shared a border with the DRC but not bordering the DRC provinces affected by the EVD outbreak. Category III was the remaining districts in Uganda. EVD-PR was implemented at the national level and in 22 category I districts. We interviewed key informants involved in program design, planning and implementation or monitoring at the national level and in five purposively selected category I districts.ResultsEbola virus disease preparedness and readiness was a success and this was attributed mainly to donor support, the ministry of health's technical capacity, good coordination, government support and community involvement. The resources invested in EVD-PR represented good value for the funds and the activities were well aligned to the public health priorities for Uganda.ConclusionEbola virus disease preparedness and readiness program in Uganda developed capacities that played an essential role in preventing cross border spread of EVD from the affected provinces in the DRC and enabled rapid containment of the two importation events. These capacities are now being used to detect and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of the recent Ebola epidemic with pandemic potential on the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and other West African countries.

West Africa experienced its first Ebola epidemic in 2014. Its magnitude in terms of morbidity and mortality was greater than any other epidemic. It has particularly affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Its impact, beyond the high mortality, is also economic. The Ebola virus disease spread to several other African countries with limited resources, causing a significant financial burden to their health systems but also impacting the entire economy of the countries. The objective of this essay is to reflect on the consequences of the Ebola virus epidemics on West African economies in the short term. Estimates of the economic burden of the epidemic range from $2.8 billion to $32.6 billion in lost gross domestic product. The sectors affected by the economic crisis are the most important of the contaminated countries, namely agriculture, mining and trade. There has been a halt in socio-economic activities in the most affected regions. The decrease in the number of workers affected by the virus, the exodus to the least affected areas, and the repatriation of government employees have contributed to the decrease in the income of individuals and states. The fear of contamination by foreign countries has reduced imports, but also all tourist activities, which in turn have had an impact on the restaurant and hotel sectors. All these financial and food disruptions have exposed the population of these countries to food insecurity. The analysis of the impact of the Ebola virus on West African economies in the short term was as devastating as the health impact. This impact has directly contributed to a decrease in economic growth not only for the affected countries but also for all West African countries that depend on these same resources. A loss of about US$32.6 billion over two years in the West African region has been estimated, which is equivalent to 3.3% of the regional gross domestic product (GDP) in the absence of Ebola in 2014.

Inactivation of Ebola virus on stainless steel surfaces by microbicides

Background: Interrupting human-to-human transmission of Ebola virus through decontamination of surfaces by infectious virus should help reduce the spread of Ebola virus disease during outbreaks. We evaluated the efficacy of a variety of formulations containing microbicidal actives for inactivating Ebola virus - Makona strain (EBOV/Mak) on stainless steel carriers per ASTM E2197-11. Methods and materials: The microbicidal actives evaluated included solutions of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) (0.05%, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1%), ethanol (70%), and chloroxylenol (PCMX) (0.12%, 0.24%, and 0.48% by weight). All microbicides were prepared in hard water (deionized water supplemented with 0.4 g calcium carbonate). Contact times of 0, or 0.5 to 10 minutes at 21 °C were evaluated per ASTM E2197-11. Survival of virus below the limit of detection of the TCID50 assay (which was determined by cytotoxicity of the neutralized microbicides) was assessed by inoculating 6-well plates of detector cells with undiluted neutralized sample and evaluating the cultures for cytopathic effect. Results: EBOV/Mak was completely inactivated (>4 log10) by 70% ethanol after contact times of 2.5 to 10 minutes. Sodium hypochlorite displayed a concentration- and time-dependent inactivation of EBOV/Mak. Inactivation was incomplete with 0.05 and 0.1% NaOCl solutions at up to 10 minutes, but complete (to the limit of detection of 1.8 TCID50/mL; >4 log10 removed) with the 0.5% and 1% NaOCl solutions at contact times of ≥5 minutes. Each concentration of PCMX reduced the EBOV/Mak titer to the limit of detection (corresponding to >4.2 log10 removal) within 5 minutes. No infectious virus was detected in 6-well plates inoculated with EBOV/Mak exposed to NaOCl (0.5% or 1%) or PCMX (0.12% to 0.48%) at contact times ≥5 minutes. Taken together, these results demonstrate complete inactivation of ≥6.8 log10 of EBOV/Mak on stainless steel surfaces using solutions of NaOCl (≥0.5%) or PCMX (≥0.12%) at contact times ≥5 minutes. Conclusion: The rapid and significant reduction of infectious Ebola-Makona virus on stainless steel carriers afforded by these microbicidal active-containing formulations suggests that products formulated with these actives may be useful as part of targeted hygiene for preventing the spread of infectious virus during Ebola virus disease outbreaks.

A reliable and competitive mathematical analysis of Ebola epidemic model

The purpose of this article is to discuss the dynamics of the spread of Ebola virus disease (EVD), a kind of fever commonly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It is rare but severe and is considered to be extremely dangerous. Ebola virus transmits to people through domestic and wild animals, called transmitting agents, and then spreads into the human population through close and direct contact among individuals. To study the dynamics and to illustrate the stability pattern of Ebola virus in human population, we have developed an SEIR type model consisting of coupled nonlinear differential equations. These equations provide a good tool to discuss the mode of impact of Ebola virus on the human population through domestic and wild animals. We first formulate the proposed model and obtain the value of threshold parameter mathcal{R}_{0} for the model. We then determine both the disease-free equilibrium (DFE) and endemic equilibrium (EE) and discuss the stability of the model. We show that both the equilibrium states are locally asymptotically stable. Employing Lyapunov functions theory, global stabilities at both the levels are carried out. We use the Runge–Kutta method of order 4 (RK4) and a non-standard finite difference (NSFD) scheme for the susceptible–exposed–infected–recovered (SEIR) model. In contrast to RK4, which fails for large time step size, it is found that the NSFD scheme preserves the dynamics of the proposed model for any step size used. Numerical results along with the comparison, using different values of step size h, are provided.

Mathematical analysis to control the spread of Ebola virus epidemic through voluntary vaccination

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is one of the deadliest viral infections that has caused a serious global health problem in the known human history. It was first transmitted to humans through domestic and wild animals, and then, the spread was through direct and indirect contacts among individuals. To control this spread is one of the most challenging aspects of epidemic studies carried out so far. The aim of this paper is to propose a transmission model called Susceptible-Vaccinated-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SVEIR) by incorporating an additional class of vaccinated individuals. We investigate the rate of spread of EVD in population when the voluntary vaccination is introduced at the level of its susceptibility. Our proposed model helps in better understanding of the dynamical behavior of EVD and explains its stability pattern. We present two main equilibrium points and their stability analysis. It is proven that disease-free equilibrium (DFE) $$F^{0}$$ is both locally and globally stable when the value of threshold parameter $${\mathcal {R}}_{0}$$ we obtain through our model is strictly less than one. Moreover, for $${\mathcal {R}}_{0}>1$$ , $$F^{0}$$ is not stable, and the endemic equilibrium (EE) $$F^{1}$$ is locally and globally stable. Hence, EVD spreads uniformly among individuals. We also study the effect of threshold parameter $${\mathcal {R}}_{0}$$ at different vaccination coverage levels to validate our conclusions in this paper. The theory of Lyapunov functions is employed to study global stabilities at both levels. We use Runge–Kutta method of order 4 (RK4) and Non-Standard Finite Difference (NSFD) scheme for the proposed model to confirm our obtained theoretical results through numerical simulations. Furthermore, the discretized SVEIR model obtained by applying NSFD scheme is dynamically consistent with the continuous model for any step size h thus used. A quantitative analysis of an epidemic model for different vaccination coverage levels is also presented. It is concluded that eradication of Ebola virus is possible if a human population adopts voluntary vaccination coupled with concentrated efforts of public education at various coverage levels. The effect of vaccination coverage levels on threshold parameter $${\mathcal {R}}_{0}$$ is executed numerically.

An advanced version of a conformable mathematical model of Ebola virus disease in Africa

An SIR-type (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) model for the study of the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is developed, by using conformable derivatives. Every possible way of transmission of the disease is incorporated (direct or indirect), such as funeral practices, consumption of contaminated bush meat and the environmental contamination etc. We have added an extremely important term to the model which have very high physical significance i.e., the possibility of the birth of an infected individual and the migration of an infected individual to the existing population. Well-posedness of the proposed problem has been shown by using a well-known theorem. The situations for the disease to be died out or sustain, have been discussed in the details. We found that the only disease-free situation is, the absence of flow of Ebola virus disease from the environment. We also have observed that by adopting a few strategies, such as isolation of infected individuals and careful burial of deceased bodies, the spread of EVD can be controlled. Memory effects for each case (disease-free and endemic states) are discovered (by using Khalil’s conformable transform) and plotted to make future predictions more accurately. Graphs are clearly elaborating that the problem is stable for both the equilibria states i.e., endemic state and disease-free state.

Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo: Lessons Learned, or Ignored?

Infectious diseases became an increasing public health threat as humans transitioned from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to stable, agrarian communities. It is accurate to say the international community was not optimally prepared for the 2014-2015 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa, which eventually spread and caused secondary cases in the United States. From that experience, much was learned about the management of an EVD outbreak, from prevention and treatment, to the need for a "whole of society" response. However, it is clear from the evidence that much still needs to be done to improve preparedness for Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases in the region. The current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo both mirrors these challenges and demonstrates new ones reflected in violence, hampering efforts to prevent spread of EVD within and beyond the country. The journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness (DMPHP) is taking a forward-looking approach, establishing a task force of editors to quickly review and approve manuscripts relating to EVD for immediate electronic publication and open access. The intent is to make emerging information available to front-line responders and policy decision-makers as quickly as possible.