Factors associated with reliable contact tracing during the 2021 Ebola virus disease outbreak in Guinea

BACKGROUND

In 2021, an Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak was declared in Guinea, linked to persistent virus from the 2014–2016 West Africa Epidemic. This paper analyzes factors associated with contact tracing reliability (defined as completion of a 21-day daily follow-up) during the 2021 outbreak, and transitively, provides recommendations for enhancing contact tracing reliability in future.

METHODS

We conducted a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study using multivariate regression analysis of contact tracing data from 1071 EVD contacts of 23 EVD cases (16 confirmed and 7 probable).

RESULTS

Findings revealed statistically significant factors affecting contact tracing reliability. Unmarried contacts were 12.76× more likely to miss follow-up than those married (OR = 12.76; 95% CI [3.39–48.05]; p < 0.001). Rural-dwelling contacts had 99% lower odds of being missed during the 21-day follow-up, compared to those living in urban areas (OR = 0.01; 95% CI [0.00–0.02]; p < 0.01). Contacts who did not receive food donations were 3× more likely to be missed (OR = 3.09; 95% CI [1.68–5.65]; p < 0.001) compared to those who received them. Contacts in health areas with a single team were 8× more likely to be missed (OR = 8.16; 95% CI [5.57–11.96]; p < 0.01) than those in health areas with two or more teams (OR = 1.00; 95% CI [1.68–5.65]; p < 0.001). Unvaccinated contacts were 30.1× more likely to be missed compared to vaccinated contacts (OR = 30.1; 95% CI [5.12–176.83]; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that contact tracing reliability can be significantly influenced by various demographic and organizational factors. Considering and understanding these factors—and where possible addressing them—may be crucial when designing and implementing contact tracing strategies during future outbreaks in low-resource settings.