Persistent Ebola Virus Was Plausible Source of Household Outbreak

Thousands survived the 2013–2015 Ebola epidemic in west Africa. In Liberia, an Ebola cluster in November 2015, after the end of local transmission, prompted detailed epidemiologic and molecular investigation, including consideration of possible transmission from a persistently infected person.

The index case was a 15-year-old boy with fatal Ebola virus disease. His father's antibody profile suggested previous infection. A 2-month-old brother had IgG antibodies, attributed to transfer of maternal antibodies. Another brother had no evidence of infection. The mother, who had close contact with a probable Ebola case a year earlier followed by illness compatible with Ebola, had high-titer Ebola IgG and low-titer IgM antibodies. Virus genomes from…