LAUSR

Just as the world is recovering from Covid-19, another deadly virus is re-emerging with global implications. On September 20, 2022, the Ministry of Health of Uganda declared an outbreak of Ebola virus caused by the Sudan species of Ebola. The previous major Ebola outbreak of 2014–2016 centered in Western Africa was caused by the Zaire species of the virus. Whether vaccines and therapeutics developed against Zaire Ebola are effective against Ebola Sudan is not clear as there is about a 40% difference in the genetic material between the two strains. A vaccine specific for Ebola Sudan may have been developed and stored years ago, but the details of the vaccine are still unknown. The lack of an effective vaccine for Ebola Sudan may pose a problem for the WHO and local health authorities in containing this outbreak as vaccination along with contact tracing has been critical for containment of the last several Ebola Zaire clusters. In response to the latest Ebola Sudan outbreak, the United States is now directing travelers from Uganda to dedicated airports for enhanced screening. In addition, the United States' Laboratory Response Network has been ramping up testing capability for Ebola Sudan, which requires different molecular targets for detection than Ebola Zaire. These efforts demonstrate that the United States is more prepared in 2022 to deal with patients with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) than in 2014. Nevertheless, a different strain of Ebola and a shortstaffed healthcare system still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic warrants revisiting lessons learned from the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak, especially for laboratories that may be called upon to help provide testing, transfusion support, or therapeutics such as convalescent plasma (CP) for patients with EVD. 1.1 | Infection control plans, risk assessment, and laboratory safety