Management of accidental exposure to Ebola virus in the biosafety level 4 laboratory, Hamburg, Germany

J Infect Dis. 2011 Nov:204 Suppl 3:S785-90. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jir298.

Abstract

A needlestick injury occurred during an animal experiment in the biosafety level 4 laboratory in Hamburg, Germany, in March 2009. The syringe contained Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV) mixed with Freund's adjuvant. Neither an approved treatment nor a postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) exists for Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Following a risk-benefit assessment, it was recommended the exposed person take an experimental vaccine that had shown PEP efficacy in ZEBOV-infected nonhuman primates (NHPs) [12]. The vaccine, which had not been used previously in humans, was a live-attenuated recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (recVSV) expressing the glycoprotein of ZEBOV. A single dose of 5 × 10(7) plaque-forming units was injected 48 hours after the accident. The vaccinee developed fever 12 hours later and recVSV viremia was detectable by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for 2 days. Otherwise, the person remained healthy, and ZEBOV RNA, except for the glycoprotein gene expressed in the vaccine, was never detected in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells during the 3-week observation period.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Containment of Biohazards
  • Ebola Vaccines* / administration & dosage
  • Ebola Vaccines* / standards
  • Ebolavirus*
  • Germany
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / prevention & control*
  • Humans
  • Laboratory Infection / prevention & control*
  • Mice
  • Needlestick Injuries* / virology
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Post-Exposure Prophylaxis / methods*
  • RNA, Viral / blood
  • Research Personnel
  • Vaccines, Attenuated
  • Vaccines, DNA / immunology
  • Vesiculovirus / genetics
  • Viremia

Substances

  • Ebola Vaccines
  • RNA, Viral
  • Vaccines, Attenuated
  • Vaccines, DNA