Feasibility of Xpert Ebola Assay in Médecins Sans Frontières Ebola Program, Guinea
Authors
Van den Bergh, RChaillet, P
Sow, MS
Amand, M
van Vyve, C
Jonckheere, S
Crestani, R
Sprecher, A
Van Herp, M
Chua, A
Piriou, E
Koivogui, L
Antierens, A
Issue Date
2016-02-01
Metadata
Show full item recordJournal
Emerging Infectious DiseasesAbstract
Rapid diagnostic methods are essential in control of Ebola outbreaks and lead to timely isolation of cases and improved epidemiologic surveillance. Diagnosis during Ebola outbreaks in West Africa has relied on PCR performed in laboratories outside this region. Because time between sampling and PCR results can be considerable, we assessed the feasibility and added value of using the Xpert Ebola Assay in an Ebola control program in Guinea. A total of 218 samples were collected during diagnosis, treatment, and convalescence of patients. Median time for obtaining results was reduced from 334 min to 165 min. Twenty-six samples were positive for Ebola virus. Xpert cycle thresholds were consistently lower, and 8 (31%) samples were negative by routine PCR. Several logistic and safety issues were identified. We suggest that implementation of the Xpert Ebola Assay under programmatic conditions is feasible and represents a major advance in diagnosis of Ebola virus disease without apparent loss of assay sensitivity.PubMed ID
26812466Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
1080-6059ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3201/eid2202.151238