Publications

clinical observations in 42 patients with lassa fever.	under continuous observation of several months, 42 patients from the eastern province of sierra leone, liberia (lofa county), and neighbouring guinea were identified as lassa fever cases by indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique, indicating that the disease is endemic in these areas. the clinical course varied from mild disease to severe illness with haemorrhagic disorders. the fatality rate was 14%. the occurrence of only two possible secondary cases suggests that person-to-person spread ...	1980	7233535
undiagnosed acute viral febrile illnesses, sierra leone.	sierra leone in west africa is in a lassa fever-hyperendemic region that also includes guinea and liberia. each year, suspected lassa fever cases result in submission of ≈500-700 samples to the kenema government hospital lassa diagnostic laboratory in eastern sierra leone. generally only 30%-40% of samples tested are positive for lassa virus (lasv) antigen and/or lasv-specific igm; thus, 60%-70% of these patients have acute diseases of unknown origin. to investigate what other arthropod-borne an ...	0	24959946
multiple circulating infections can mimic the early stages of viral hemorrhagic fevers and possible human exposure to filoviruses in sierra leone prior to the 2014 outbreak.	lassa fever (lf) is a severe viral hemorrhagic fever caused by lassa virus (lasv). the lf program at the kenema government hospital (kgh) in eastern sierra leone currently provides diagnostic services and clinical care for more than 500 suspected lf cases per year. nearly two-thirds of suspected lf patients presenting to the lf ward test negative for either lasv antigen or anti-lasv immunoglobulin m (igm), and therefore are considered to have a non-lassa febrile illness (nlfi). the nlfi patients ...	2015	25531344
a plan for community event-based surveillance to reduce ebola transmission - sierra leone, 2014-2015.	ebola virus disease (ebola) was first detected in sierra leone in may 2014 and was likely introduced into the eastern part of the country from guinea. the disease spread westward, eventually affecting freetown, sierra leone's densely populated capital. by december 2014, sierra leone had more ebola cases than guinea and liberia, the other two west african countries that have experienced widespread transmission. as the epidemic intensified through the summer and fall, an increasing number of infec ...	2015	25632956
establishment of an ebola treatment unit and laboratory - bombali district, sierra leone, july 2014-january 2015.	the first confirmed case of ebola virus disease (ebola) in sierra leone related to the ongoing epidemic in west africa occurred in may 2014, and the outbreak quickly spread. to date, 8,704 ebola cases and 3,955 ebola deaths have been confirmed in sierra leone. the first ebola treatment units (etus) in sierra leone were established in the eastern districts of kenema and kailahun, where the first ebola cases were detected, and these districts were also the first to control the epidemic. by septemb ...	2015	26447483
fighting ebola in sierra leone: a view from the frontline.	the largest and most complex ebola epidemic in history is believed to have started with the infection of a 2-year-old boy in south-eastern guinea in late 2013. within a year, thousands of children and their families had contracted the virus, many had died and many more were orphaned. we reflect on our experiences of volunteering at the kerry town ebola treatment centre in sierra leone between january and february 2015, where we were deployed to care for just a few of these children as part of th ...	2016	26507816
the face of ebola: changing frequency of haemorrhage in the west african compared with eastern-central african outbreaks.	the west-african (wa) zaire ebolavirus disease (evd) outbreak was characterized by an exceptionally high number of cases and deaths as compared with the eastern-central african (eca) outbreaks. despite the zaire ebolavirus being the most lethal for humans, case-fatality rate, close to 80 % in eca outbreaks, almost halved to 47 % in guinea-liberia-sierra leone (wa). such an improvement was due to the remarkable implementation of international humanitarian aids. some studies also suggested that th ...	2015	26653293