# Reproductive health sequelae in women who survived Ebola Virus Disease in Sierra Leone and Liberia

> **NIH NIH R03** · FAMILY HEALTH INTERNATIONAL · 2021 · $68,510

## Abstract

SUMMARY STATEMENT
The growing body of research on Ebola virus disease (EVD) suggests that female survivors of
the virus may be at increased risk of miscarriage or stillbirth in new pregnancies conceived after
recovery from acute EVD-infection. In addition, recent reports suggest that the Ebola virus may
persist in the uteruses of survivors who were pregnant during acute Ebola infection (PDAEI) and
that the virus may become reactivated during subsequent pregnancies, creating the potential for
pregnant survivors to spread the virus to others, long after they have recovered from initial acute
EVD infection. Previous research on pregnancies in female EVD survivors have not explored
associations between pregnancy outcomes after EVD with pregnancy history prior to EVD or
whether or not the woman was PDAEI. Understanding the post-EVD pregnancies of survivors—
especially those who were PDAEI and may be vulnerable to viral recrudescence—is a critical
first step in assessing risk of EVD’s re-emergence after outbreaks.
The proposed study will compare the incidence and outcomes of pregnancies conceived post-
EVD among: PDAEI EVD survivors, non-PDAEI EVD survivors, and a comparison group. This
proposed study will utilize self-reported, questionnaire-based data from female EVD survivors
and other women of reproductive age (comparison group) in Liberia and Sierra Leone and is
currently being collected through an NIH-funded R01 study (NIAID #1R01AI123535-01A1). The
specific aims of this study are: 1) to estimate the incidence of recognized pregnancies
conceived after Ebola by EVD-survivors; and 2) among women with a recognized pregnancy
after Ebola, to estimate the incidence of failed pregnancy reported by EVD-survivors and to
describe host and disease-specific factors associated with pregnancy outcomes. This study has
the potential to expand our understanding of how, if at all, EVD may differentially impact the
post-EVD pregnancies of survivors, including those who were PDAEI. Results may be used to
inform guidelines for the management of EVD in pregnant women and management of
pregnancy in EVD survivors.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10131756
- **Project number:** 5R03AI148754-02
- **Recipient organization:** FAMILY HEALTH INTERNATIONAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Christine Leigh Godwin
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $68,510
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2022-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10131756

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10131756, Reproductive health sequelae in women who survived Ebola Virus Disease in Sierra Leone and Liberia (5R03AI148754-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10131756. Licensed CC0.

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