Ebola hemorrhagic fever and pregnancy

J Infect Dis. 1999 Feb:179 Suppl 1:S11-2. doi: 10.1086/514289.

Abstract

Fifteen (14%) of 105 women with Ebola hemorrhagic fever hospitalized in the isolation unit of the Kikwit General Hospital (Democratic Republic of the Congo) were pregnant. In 10 women (66%) the pregnancy ended with an abortion. In 3 of them, a curettage was performed, and all 3 received a blood transfusion from an apparently healthy person. One woman was prematurely delivered of a stillbirth. Four pregnant women died during the third trimester of their pregnancy. All women presented with severe bleeding. Only 1 survived; she had a curettage because of an incomplete abortion after 8 months of amenorrhea. The mortality among pregnant women with Ebola hemorrhagic fever (95.5%) was slightly but not significantly higher than the overall mortality observed during the Ebola epidemic in Kikwit (77%; 245/316 infected persons).

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo / epidemiology
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Female
  • Fetal Death / etiology
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / complications*
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / mortality
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / mortality