Ebola Virus Disease: What We Know, How Deadly It is, and How It Spreads Compared to COVID-19?

Prevention (CDC) noting that, without treatment, up to 90% of cases can be fatal. 10Across outbreaks, the WHO summarizes an average CFR of around 50% and emphasizes wide variability (25-90%) in past outbreaks. 4 Syntheses of multiple outbreaks also find high overall lethality.A meta-analysis covering 42 outbreaks (1976-2022) reported a pooled CFR of 60.6% (95% CI 51.6-69.4) and estimated that the CFR declined over time but stabilized at around 61.0% (95% CI 52.0-69.0) between 2014 and 2022. 13Another meta-analysis reported an overall CFR estimate of 65.4% (95% CI 54.6-75.5),with substantial variation among outbreaks. 14The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) similarly cites a weighted CFR of 65.0% (95% CI 54.0-76.0)and highlights higher fatality for Zaire ebolavirus (75%) than for Sudan ebolavirus (53%). 2 Lethality differs by virus species.In the 1976-2022 metaanalysis, Zaire virus had the highest CFR estimate (66.6%), followed by Sudan virus (48.5%),Bundibugyo virus (32.8%), and Taï Forest virus (0%). 13linical features associated with mortality (useful for triage and clinical monitoring) have been summarized in pooled analyses; fatal cases more often had bleeding events, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain than survivors in one meta-analysis of clinical findings. 15 How deadly I S It?Severity is driven by both the clinical syndrome and the historically high fatality rate, with the Centers for Disease Control and