Characteristics and Survival of Patients with Ebola Virus Infection, Malaria or Both in Sierra Leone: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Little evidence exists regarding the characteristics and outcomes of patients co-infected with EVD and malaria. International Medical Corps—in collaboration with Brown University, UCLA, and Dartmouth College—conducted a retrospective cohort study using data collected from Sierra Leone during the 2014 EVD response to assess survival outcomes and baseline characteristics of patients by different combinations of EVD and malaria infection. The study found that mortality was higher in patients co-infected with malaria and Ebola virus compared with patients with EVD alone, and that malaria parasite co-infection was common in patients presenting to Ebola treatment units (ETUs). This suggests expanded testing and treatment might improve care in future EVD epidemics.