Delineating survival from a fatal outcome in Ebola virus disease in humans

In 2014 Western Africa experienced an unanticipated explosion of infections with Ebola virus (EBOV). What distinguishes fatal from non-fatal outcomes remains largely unknown, yet is key to optimising personalised treatment strategies. Here transcriptome data for peripheral blood taken from infected and convalescent, recovering patients, was used to identify early stage host factors that were associated with acutely ill patients that ultimately either survived or succumbed to the disease.