In an alarming new develoopment, a recent study has revealed that the Ebola virus could survive and be active in semen for more than a year, according reports in several sections in the media. Men who are survivors of the life threatening disease might not be out of the woods if they had recovered a year or so back. The study has been conducted by the Liberian Ministry of Wealth.
Dr. Moses Soka from the Liberian Ministry of Health, who was instrumental in the study said, "Before this outbreak, scientists believed that Ebola virus could be found in semen for three months after recovery,With this study, we now know that virus may persist for a year or longer."
A report in NBC News stated, "U.S. agencies are helping test a drug called GS-5734 to see if it can clear the virus from men's semen. It's made by Gilead Sciences, which specializes in antiviral drugs. It's protected animals against Ebola and has been safe in early tests in people.
The World Health Organization advises Ebola survivors to abstain from sex for three months or use a condom. Ebola spreads through bodily fluids - vomit and diarrhea, blood and even sweat. Infection requires close, sustained contact, however, and caregivers are most at risk, as are the people who prepare the bodies of people killed by Ebola.But the virus can linger in parts of the body that are called immune privileged sites. These include semen but also the eyes, spinal cord and elsewhere. Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey is one example. She got infected while helping fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. She was taken back to the hospital at least twice when the virus began replicating in her spinal fluid, causing symptoms."
