Criteria

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) case definitions[133]​​

Clinical criteria

  • An illness with acute onset of fever 38°C (>100.4°F) AND one or more of the following:

    • Severe headache

    • Muscle pain

    • Erythematous maculopapular rash on the trunk with fine desquamation 3 to 4 days after rash onset

    • Vomiting

    • Diarrhoea

    • Abdominal pain

    • Bleeding not related to injury

    • Thrombocytopenia

    • Pharyngitis, proteinuria, retrosternal chest pain (Arenaviruses only).

Laboratory criteria

  • Any one of the following:

    • Detection of VHF viral antigens in blood by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

    • VHF viral isolation in cell culture for blood or tissues

    • Detection of VHF-specific genetic sequence by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from blood or tissues

    • Detection of VHF viral antigens in tissues by immunohistochemistry.

Epidemiological criteria

    • Contact with blood or other body fluids of a patient with VHF

    • Residence in or travel to a VHF endemic area or area with active transmission

    • Work in a laboratory that handles VHF specimens

    • Work in a laboratory that handles bats, rodents, or primates from a VHF endemic area or area with active transmission

    • Sexual exposure to semen from a confirmed acute or clinically recovered case of VHF.

Suspect case:

  • Meets clinical criteria AND epidemiological criteria.

Confirmed case:

  • Meets laboratory criteria.

CDC: viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) 2022 case definition Opens in new window

​World Health Organization: case definition for Ebola or Marburg virus disease[95]​​​

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also produced a case definition:

WHO: case definition recommendations for Ebola or Marburg virus diseases Opens in new window

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