Ebola outbreak update: a new study reveals virus can stay in male survivor's semen for up to 9 months

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A research has revealed that Ebola virus can still live on in the semen of male survivors long after they have been treated for the disease.

Scientists found Ebola virus in the semen samples gathered from 93 male survivors from Sierra Leone. According to ABC News, the virus was detected in all nine men who were tested two to three months after they got sick and 11 out 43 men tested positive for Ebola at seven to nine months post-Ebola. The findings were detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine.

NBC News cites a case of a 44-year-old woman who got the disease from having sexual intercourse with her fiancé who was a survivor. The Liberian woman died in March this year. Due to this, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that Ebola survivors should abstain from having sex or use condoms for three months. However, the new study shows that the virus persists longer than 90 days.

According to the researchers, the phenomenon is rare and it is unclear if the virus is still infectious long after the patient has been treated for the disease. The Ebola found on the semen are just pieces of it and not the whole virus.

"We don't have a great understanding of what exactly is going on in the male reproductive tract," said Dr. Barbara Knust, part of CDC's Ebola team. "The testicles in particular are an area where the immune system does not have nearly as strong a presence as in other parts of the body."

In women, it is not clear whether Ebola can survive for long in vaginal fluid but the WHO states that it is unlikely that women survivors will infect a man through intercourse.

Dr. William Fischer from University of North Carolina School of Medicine, who is not involved in the study, states that the phenomenon shows the lack of knowledge about the virus.

"I think this has really important implications, because we really know very little about this virus," Dr. Fischer said via US News & World Report. "And this demonstrates that the problems inflicted by Ebola don't necessarily end with clearance of the virus from the blood."

In other news, the WHO declared last week as the first Ebola-free week since March of last year, Time reports. However, there are still many patients who are undergoing regular testing to make sure there is no recurrence of the virus in their bodies.