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.