Shifting the Paradigm - Applying Universal Standards of Care to Ebola Virus Disease.

As the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) 10th outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) rages in this resource-limited, war-torn region, advances in the delivery of supportive care and the introduction of investigational therapies provide a glimmer of hope amid the mounting infections. In the absence of effective therapies or vaccines, EVD outbreak response has centered around the most basic of public health principles — identification and isolation of patients with suspected and confirmed EVD and tracking of all the contacts of the confirmed patients, who are then rapidly isolated if they show signs of disease. This strategy of “identify, isolate, and track” allows public health responders to curtail and eventually eliminate virus transmission in the community and has been the foundation of EVD outbreak-control efforts since the disease was first described in 1976.