Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25642358›Full record

ArticlePLoS currents2014

Early epidemic dynamics of the west african 2014 ebola outbreak: estimates derived with a simple two-parameter model.

David Fisman, Edwin Khoo, Ashleigh Tuite

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS currents, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
95citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
19.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

95 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 230 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Time From Infection to Disease and Infectiousness for Ebola Virus Disease, a Systematic Review.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2015
    Pooled it
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  11. Critical country-level determinants of death rate during Covid-19 pandemic.International journal of disaster risk reduction : IJDRR · 2021
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  13. Where Do We Go From Here? A Framework for Using Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered Models for Policy Making in Emerging Infectious Diseases.Value in health : the journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research · 2021
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  15. The Effect of Face Mask Use on COVID-19 Models.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021
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35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

David FismanDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Edwin KhooDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ashleigh TuiteDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
University of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The 2014 West African Ebola virus outbreak, now more correctly referred to as an epidemic, is the largest ever to occur. As of August 28, 2014, concerns have been raised that control efforts, particularly in Liberia, have been ineffective, as reported case counts continue to increase. Limited data are available on the epidemiology of the outbreak. However, reported cumulative incidence data as well as death counts are available for Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. We utilized a simple, two parameter mathematical model of epidemic growth and control, to characterize epidemic growth patterns in West Africa, to evaluate the degree to which the epidemic is being controlled, and to assess the potential implications of growth patterns for epidemic size. Models demonstrated good fits to data. Overall basic reproductive number (R0) for the epidemic was estimated to be between 1.6 and 2.0, consistent with prior outbreaks. However, we identified only weak evidence for the occurrence of epidemic control in West Africa as a whole, and essentially no evidence for control in Liberia (though slowing of growth was seen in Guinea and Sierra Leone). It is projected that small reductions in transmission would prevent tens of thousands of future infections. These findings suggest that there is an extraordinary need for improved control measures for the 2014 Ebola epidemic, especially in Liberia, if catastrophe is to be averted.

Identifiers

PMID25642358
PMCPMC4169344
OpenAlexW2155548535

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.