1 ꟾ INTRODUCTION:
Discovered in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ebola
virus disease (EVD) is a serious, highly contagious disease transmitted
to humans from wild animals and with human-to-human transmission through
contact with bodily fluids [1] . As of August
22nd 2022, the DRC has experienced 15 EVD outbreaks[2]. Without early and adequate treatment,
infection is complicated by multisystem organ failure leading to death
in less than three weeks [3]. From its discovery,
until 2020, over 15,000 people have died due to EVD[4]. According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), the average case fatality is around 50%[5]. In 2016, a review of 12 studies on maternal
mortality in 108 cases of EVD found a case fatality rate of 84.3% with
a neonatal survival of 0.9% [6]. The main
obstetric complications are spontaneous abortion, premature rupture of
membranes (PRM), preterm delivery, perinatal hemorrhage and
intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR). Pregnancy outcomes are
generally unfavorable [7].One study in West Africa
reported two cases of neonatal survival but both died within the first 8
days of life after developing EVD[8]. In the DRC,
during the 10th epidemic in 2018-2020, three cases of neonatal survival
were reported in two different studies [9].
In a context where healthcare is provided with limited resources, staff
and evidence base for management of preterm babies born to mothers with
active/acute Ebola infection, neonatal resuscitation remains a challenge
and survival of premature infants born to mothers with EVD remains
exceptional. This case study reports the clinical course of an infant
born prematurely to a mother in the acute phase of Ebola viral
infection.