American virologist Angela Rasmussen calls the discovery “quite shocking.” “A virus like Ebola is not known for staying in a body for a long time without doing anything,” she says. Science.
Sexual transmission
After the outbreak between 2013 and 2016, it was discovered that the virus sometimes remained for a short period in places in the human body that are ‘immune’ to it. Such as the brain, placenta, eyes and testicles.
Analyzes of the virus in the current outbreak indicate that it was likely transmitted through semen. Sexual transmission of Ebola has already been seen by virologists as the source of occasional infections and minor local outbreaks.
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The fact that the virus remains ‘dormant’ for five years in an otherwise healthy body, is what the French infectious disease specialist Eric Delaporte calls ‘scary and new’.
English virologist Miles Carroll says the research and data are vital to vaccination and local health advice. It is expected that in the future there will be more emphasis on communication about sexual health.
29 infections and 13 deaths
The outbreak in Guinea has so far resulted in 29 infections and 13 deaths. Researchers have concluded in at least four people that the virus is barely different from the outbreak more than five years ago. At the time, Ebola in western Africa killed 11,000 people.
Congo suffered a major Ebola outbreak in 2019. In order to contain the virus as quickly as possible, strict rules also applied to funerals:
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Doctors the current outbreak in Guinea was then traced a nurse from the Nzerekore region fell ill and died at the end of January. Eight people who attended her funeral showed symptoms afterward. At least three of them died at the time. Tests later revealed they had Ebola.
Precautionary actions
Guinea is not the only country in the region currently facing an outbreak of the Ebola virus. Liberian President George Weah is concerned and asked health authorities in his country last month to increase vigilance over the outbreak in neighboring Guinea. Preventive measures were then taken and surveillance was tightened.
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