Study on Ebola Shows Virus Can Survive in Semen for 9 Months
A new study on the Ebola has shown that the deadly virus can survive in men's semen for nine months and can infect others via transfer of body fluids.
Apparently, the Ebola virus can survive longer than what scientists originally knew. Survivors of the deadly disease have been advised to use condoms or to abstain from sexual intercourse for three months after recovery, according to the Independent.
The new discovery came as a surprise to scientists because it was first thought that the Ebola virus could only survive for six months in the body. The case of Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey is clearly aligned with the recent findings. She has slipped back into a critical state almost a year after she had recovered from the virus, the report relays.
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Based on the results of the study involving 93 male survivors, the Ebola virus is still present in the semen of almost two-thirds of the subject even after six months. After nine months, the virus was still present in more than a fourth of the subjects. This could mean that the Ebola virus can be transmitted sexually and could start new outbreaks later on, 12 News Now reports.
"There are thousands of survivors of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in western Africa, and many are sexually active men," the Independent quotes the researchers' statement. "Sexual transmission of the Ebola virus could possibly result in new outbreaks several weeks or months after all known chains of transmission in the region have stopped."
To help prevent another outbreak arising from sexual transmission of the Ebola virus, the World Health Organization conducts monthly tests on survivors and dispenses health teachings to inform survivors and their partners about the risks they are in. However, more activities to test and warn survivors are still needed, the report details.
The researchers say both male and female survivors, including their respective partners, should be able to grasp the risk that the virus carries. They should also be able to protect their partners from being infected with Ebola virus through proper use and disposal of condoms, and attending counseling programs.
