Agence France-Presse: Half of Ebola outbreaks go ‘undetected’: study
“…Researchers at the University of Cambridge used several independent datasets from the last major outbreak, in West Africa in 2013-2016, to simulate thousands of outbreaks. They calculated how often on average a spillover event could be expected to fizzle out before gripping the population, versus how often a true outbreak was likely. The results consistently showed that only one in two Ebola outbreaks were likely to be detected. … ‘Knowing that Ebola is rarely detected within the first few cases emphasizes the importance of having widely available infection control and diagnostic resources,’ she said. The research was published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases” (6/13).

The researchers published a related opinion piece in The Conversation.