Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28245814›Full record

ArticleBMC medicine2017

Perspectives on model forecasts of the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa: lessons and the way forward.

Gerardo Chowell, Cécile Viboud, Lone Simonsen, Stefano Merler, Alessandro Vespignani

Abstract readEditorial
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
41citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  15. Statistical Estimation of Effects of Implemented Government Policies on COVID-19 Situation in South Korea.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
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  17. Article
  18. Use of meteorological data in biosecurity.Emerging topics in life sciences · 2020
    Review
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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

5 authors.

Gerardo ChowellSchool of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA. gchowell@gsu.edu.
Cécile ViboudDivision of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Lone SimonsenDepartment of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Stefano MerlerBruno Kessler Foundation, Trento, Italy.
Alessandro VespignaniLaboratory for the Modeling of Biological and Socio-technical Systems, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.

Funding

Understanding Transmission with Integrated Genetic and Epidemiologic InferenceU54GM111274 · NIGMS · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · PI VESPIGNANI, ALESSANDRO · 2014 to 2018
$12.5M
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/M008894/1NIGMS NIH HHS U54 GM111274
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The unprecedented impact and modeling efforts associated with the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa provides a unique opportunity to document the performances and caveats of forecasting approaches used in near-real time for generating evidence and to guide policy. A number of international academic groups have developed and parameterized mathematical models of disease spread to forecast the trajectory of the outbreak. These modeling efforts often relied on limited epidemiological data to derive key transmission and severity parameters, which are needed to calibrate mechanistic models. Here, we provide a perspective on some of the challenges and lessons drawn from these efforts, focusing on (1) data availability and accuracy of early forecasts; (2) the ability of different models to capture the profile of early growth dynamics in local outbreaks and the importance of reactive behavior changes and case clustering; (3) challenges in forecasting the long-term epidemic impact very early in the outbreak; and (4) ways to move forward. We conclude that rapid availability of aggregated population-level data and detailed information on a subset of transmission chains is crucial to characterize transmission patterns, while ensemble-forecasting approaches could limit the uncertainty of any individual model. We believe that coordinated forecasting efforts, combined with rapid dissemination of disease predictions and underlying epidemiological data in shared online platforms, will be critical in optimizing the response to current and future infectious disease emergencies.

Indexed as

EpidemicsModels, BiologicalAfrica, WesternEpidemiologic MethodsForecastingHemorrhagic Fever, EbolaHumansData sharingDisease forecastEbolaEpidemic modelExponential growthLessons learnedPolynomial growthSub-exponential growthWest Africa

Identifiers

PMID28245814
PMCPMC5331683

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.