Clinical Virology of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF): Virus, Virus Antigen, and IgG and IgM Antibody Findings among EHF Patients in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995

Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) patients treated at Kikwit General Hospital during the 1995 outbreak were tested for viral antigen, IgG and IgM antibody, and infectious virus. Viral antigen could be detected in virtually all patients during the acute phase of illness, while antibody was not always det...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1999-02, Vol.179 (Supplement-1), p.S177-S187
Main Authors: Ksiazek, T. G., Rollin, P. E., Williams, A. J., Bressler, D. S., Martin, M. L., Swanepoel, R., Burt, F. J., Leman, P. A., Khan, A. S., Rowe, A. K., Mukunu, R., Sanchez, A., Peters, C. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antibodies
Antibodies, Viral - blood
Antigens
Antigens, Viral - blood
Blood
Cercopithecus aethiops
Democratic Republic of the Congo - epidemiology
Disease Outbreaks
Ebola virus
Ebolavirus - growth & development
Ebolavirus - immunology
Ebolavirus - isolation & purification
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola - epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola - immunology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola - virology
Humans
Immunoglobulin G - blood
Immunoglobulin M - blood
Infections
Plaque assay
Rabbits
Specimens
Time Factors
Vero Cells
Viral Plaque Assay
Virology
Virology - methods
Virology and Pathogenesis
Viruses
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Description
Summary:Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) patients treated at Kikwit General Hospital during the 1995 outbreak were tested for viral antigen, IgG and IgM antibody, and infectious virus. Viral antigen could be detected in virtually all patients during the acute phase of illness, while antibody was not always detectable before death. Virus was also isolated from patients during the course of their febrile illness, but attempts to quantify virus in Vero E6 cells by standard plaque assay were often unsuccessful. IgG and IgM antibody appeared at approximately the same time after disease onset (8–10 days), but IgM persisted for a much shorter period among the surviving convalescent patients. IgG antibody was detectable in surviving patients through about 2 years after onset, the latest time that samples were obtained. Detection of Ebola virus antigens or virus isolation appears to be the most reliable means of diagnosis for patients with suspected acute EHF, since patients with this often-fatal disease (80% mortality) may not develop detectable antibodies before death.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1086/514321