Atypical clinical presentation of Ebola virus disease in pregnancy: Implications for clinical and public health management

Boris I. Pavlin*, Andrew Hall, Jan Hajek, Muhammad Ali Raja, Vikas Sharma, Otim Patrick Ramadan, Sharmistha Mishra, Audrey Rangel, Aileen Kitching, Katrina Roper, Tim O'Dempsey, Judith Starkulla, Amy Elizabeth Parry, Rashida Kamara, Alie H. Wurie

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Between December 2013 and June 2016, West Africa experienced the largest Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in history. Understanding EVD in pregnancy is important for EVD clinical screening and infection prevention and control. Methods: We conducted a review of medical records and EVD investigation reports from three districts in Sierra Leone. We report the clinical presentations and maternal and fetal outcomes of six pregnant women with atypical EVD, and subsequent transmission events from perinatal care. Results: The six women (ages 18–38) were all in the third trimester. Each presented with signs and symptoms initially attributed to pregnancy. None met EVD case definition; only one was known at presentation to be a contact of an EVD case. Five women died, and all six fetuses/neonates died. These cases resulted in at least 35 additional EVD cases. Conclusions: These cases add to the sparse literature focusing on pregnant women with EVD, highlighting challenges and implications for outbreak control. Infected newborns may also present atypically and may shed virus while apparently asymptomatic. Pregnant women identified a priori as contacts of EVD cases require special attention and planning for obstetrical care.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)167-173
Number of pages7
JournalInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume97
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2020
Externally publishedYes

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