Title: Viral Education via Mobile Phone: Virtual International Networks and Ebola Prevention in Sierra Leone

Authors: Julia Bello-Bravo¹, Anne Namatsi Lutomi², Thomas Songu³, Barry Robert Pittendrigh⁴

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Abstract^/Summary

This chapter documents a strategy for the development and deployment of educational content on Ebola prevention and treatment targeted at low-literate learners speaking diverse languages. During the outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone, Njala University partnered with Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to create educational animations on Ebola. Drawing on an international network of collaborators, these animations were then placed into multiple languages for Sierra Leone. Njala University in turn acted as the central hub for engaging local partner groups to deploy this content throughout Sierra Leone. This chapter describes the development process, which occurred during the outbreaks and the ICT tools now available to the global health community. The educational animations created during the 2014 Ebola outbreak are now available in multiple languages for Sierra Leone, as well as other West African countries, along with a highly scal-able deployment pathway that can be rapidly operationalized during future outbreaks or modeled for other outbreak or health crisis situations.

Title: Isolation of Angola-like Marburg virus from Egyptian rousette bats from West Africa

Authors: Brian R. Amman¹ , Brian H. Bird², Ibrahim A. Bakarr³, James Bangura²,⁴, Amy J. Schuh¹ , Jonathan Johnny³, Tara K. Sealy¹ , Immah Conteh³, Alusine H. Koroma³, Ibrahim Foday³, Emmanuel Amara⁴, Abdulai A. Bangura⁴, Aiah A. Gbakima⁵, Alexandre Tremeau-Bravard³, Manjunatha Belaganahalli³, Jasjeet Dhanota², Andrew Chow², Victoria Ontiveros², Alexandra Gibson², Joseph Turay⁴, Ketan Patel1 , James Graziano1 , Camilla Bangura³, Emmanuel S. Kamanda³, Augustus Osborne³, Emmanuel Saidu³, Jonathan Musa³, Doris Bangura³, Samuel Maxwell Tom Williams³, Richard Wadsworth³, Mohamed Turay⁴, Lavalie Edwin⁴, Vanessa Mereweather-Thompson⁴, Dickson Kargbo⁴, Fatmata V. Bairoh⁴, Marilyn Kanu⁴, Willie Robert⁴, Victor Lungai⁴, Raoul Emeric Guetiya Wadoum⁴, Moinya Coomber⁴, Osman Kanu⁴, Amara Jambai⁶, Sorie M. Kamara⁷, Celine H. Taboy¹ , Tushar Singh⁸, Jonna A.K. Mazet², Stuart T. Nichol¹ , Tracey Goldstein ID ^2*, Jonathan S. Towner ID ^{1 *} & Aiah Lebbie ID ^3*

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Abstract/Summary

Marburg virus (MARV) causes sporadic outbreaks of severe Marburg virus disease (MVD). Most MVD outbreaks originated in East Africa and field studies in East Africa, South Africa, Zambia, and Gabon identified the Egyptian rousette bat (ERB; Rousettus aegyptiacus) as a natural reservoir. However, the largest recorded MVD outbreak with the highest case–fatality ratio happened in 2005 in Angola, where direct spillover from bats was not shown. Here, collaborative studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Njala University, University of California, Davis USAID-PREDICT, and the University of Makeni identify MARV circulating in ERBs in Sierra Leone. PCR, antibody and virus isolation data from 1755 bats of 42 species shows active MARV infection in approximately 2.5% of ERBs. Phylogenetic analysis identifies MARVs that are similar to the Angola strain. These results provide evidence of MARV circulation in West Africa and demonstrate the value of pathogen surveillance to identify previously undetected threats.