• Thomas Strecker, Bernadett Palyi, Heinz Ellerbrok, Sylvie Jonckheere, Hilde de Clerck, Joseph Akoi Bore, Martin Gabriel, Kilian Stoecker, Markus Eickmann, Michel van Herp, Pierre Formenty, Antonino Di Caro, and Stephan Becker.
• Institute of Virology, Philipps University, Marburg European Mobile Laboratory Consortium, Hamburg, Germany.
• Clin. Infect. Dis. 2015 Sep 1; 61 (5): 669-75.

BackgroundReliable reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based diagnosis of Ebola virus infection currently requires a blood sample obtained by intravenous puncture. During the current Ebola outbreak in Guinea, we evaluated the usability of capillary blood samples collected from fingersticks of patients suspected of having Ebola virus disease (EVD) for field diagnostics during an outbreak emergency.MethodsA total of 120 venous and capillary blood samples were collected from 53 patients admitted to the Ebola Treatment Centre in Guéckédou, Guinea, between July and August 2014. All sample specimens were analyzed by RT-PCR using the RealStar Filovirus Screen RT-PCR Kit 1.0 from altona Diagnostics (Germany). We compared samples obtained by venipuncture and those obtained by capillary blood sampling absorbed onto swab devices.ResultsThe resulting sensitivity and specificity of tests performed with capillary blood samples were 86.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 71.9%-95.6%; 33/38 patients) and 100% (95% CI, 84.6%-100%; 22/22 patients), respectively.ConclusionsOur data suggest that capillary blood samples could serve as an alternative to venous blood samples for the diagnosis of EVD in resource-limited settings during a crisis. This can be of particular advantage in cases when venipuncture is difficult to perform-for example, with newborns and infants or when adult patients reject venipuncture for cultural or religious reasons.© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

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