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Volume 12, Number 3—March 2006
Research

Serosurvey on Household Contacts of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever Patients

Matthias Borchert*Comments to Author , Sabue Mulangu†, Robert Swanepoel‡, Modeste Lifenya Libande§, Antoine Tshomba¶, Amayo Kulidri§, Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum†, and Patrick Van der Stuyft*
Author affiliations: *Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; †Institut de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; ‡National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa; §Ministry of Health, Democratic Republic of Congo; ¶Hôpital Général de Kilo-Moto, Watsa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Main Article

Table 3

Type and level of exposure of 121 household and community contacts of Marburg hemorrhagic fever patients, Watsa Subdistrict, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2002

Exposure No. male (%),
n = 58 No. female (%),
n = 63 Total (%),
N = 121
Role played for the living patient
Held or carried 33 (56.9) 31 (49.2) 64 (52.9)
Fed 14 (24.1) 24 (38.1) 38 (31.4)
Washed 14 (24.1) 24 (38.1) 38 (31.4)
Washed patient's clothes 4 (6.9) 19 (30.2) 23 (19.0)
Made patient drink 6 (10.3) 16 (25.4) 22 (18.2)
Shared bed 4 (6.9) 8 (12.7) 12 (9.9)
Give medical care 6 (10.3) 5 (7.9) 11 (9.1)
Contact with living patient
Touched with hands 54 (93.1) 58 (92.1) 112 (92.6)
Touched a patient with diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding 40 (69.0) 44 (69.8) 84 (69.4)
Carried, embraced, or shared bed 42 (72.4) 44 (69.8) 86 (71.1)
Carried, embraced or shared bed when patient had diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding 31 (53.5) 37 (58.7) 68 (56.2)
Touched object like clothes or sheets with hand 33 (56.9) 43 (68.3) 76 (62.8)
Touched objects when soiled with stool, vomit, blood 24 (41.4) 36 (57.1) 60 (49.6)
Any physical contact with living patient or object 54 (93.1) 59 (93.7) 113 (93.4)
Any physical contact with patient or object, with putative exposure to stool, vomit, blood 41 (70.7) 49 (77.8) 90 (74.4)
Contact with remains of patient
Touched with hands 27 (46.6) 25 (39.7) 52 (42.9)
Carried or embraced 18 (31.0) 17 (27.0) 35 (38.9)
Cleaned 9 (15.5) 7 (11.1) 16 (13.2)
Any physical contact 27 (46.6) 25 (39.7) 52 (43.0)
Level of exposure
Low level of physical contact* 9 (15.5) 7 (11.1) 16 (13.2)
Medium level of physical contact† 10 (17.2) 13 (20.6) 23 (19.0)
High level of physical contact‡ 39 (67.2) 43 (68.3) 82 (67.8)
Total 58 (100.0) 63 (100.0) 121 (100.0)

*Low, any direct contact with living patient who did not have diarrhea, vomiting, or bleeding; touching clothes or sheets not soiled with stool, vomit, or blood.
†Medium, touching living patient who had diarrhea, vomiting, or bleeding; touching clothes or sheets soiled with stool, vomit, or blood; touching remains.
‡High, carrying or embracing living patient who had diarrhea, vomiting, or bleeding; carrying, embracing, or cleaning remains.

Main Article

Page created: January 27, 2012
Page updated: January 27, 2012
Page reviewed: January 27, 2012
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