Four new studies shed new light on Ebola transmission and countermeasures.

CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE FOR RESEARCH AND POLICY  by Lisa Schnirring                                        Jan. 23, 2015

French and Guinean researchers  noted how chains of transmission helped Ebola spread in Conakry, Guinea, the first of the region's capital cities to be hit by the virus, and US officials released three detailed reports on outbreak response.

The Conakry team looked at seven transmission chains that occurred in the area from March to August 2014. They reported their findings in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

In the first of three reports Friday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), extra flight contact tracing measures undertaken after a Texas nurse took two flights shortly before getting sick with Ebola in October identified 268 people from nine states, none of whom got sick with the virus

In the second report, CDC estimates on the impact of Ebola treatment units (ETUs) and community care centers (CCCs) in Liberia predict that the interventions prevented thousands of new infections and that the interventions when used together were likely had a bigger impact than either alone.

In the third report, CDC and other scientists noted that Sierra Leone's Ebola case surge in the summer and fall overwhelmed surveillance systems, with many cases not found until victims were dead, posing a high risk to communities.

To help identify cases earlier and curb the spread of the disease, the International Rescue Committee, the CDC, and officials in the country's Bo district developed a community event-based surveillance (CEBS) system to boost the response and regular surveillance.

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http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2015/01/studies-detail-ebola-spread-response-steps

Lancet study

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099%2814%2971088-6/fulltext

Public Health Response to Commercial Airline Travel of a Person with Ebola Virus Infection — United States, 2014

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm64e0123a1.htm

Effectiveness of Ebola Treatment Units and Community Care Centers — Liberia, September 23–October 31, 2014

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm64e0123a2.htm

A Plan for Community Event-Based Surveillance to Reduce Ebola Transmission — Sierra Leone, 2014–2015

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm64e0123a3.htm?s_cid=mm64e0123a3_x