The World Health Organisation (WHO) has clarified that Ebola survivors may still transmit the virus through sexual intercourse if it persists in their semen after recovery, but those who meet the criteria for discharge from treatment are not expected to spread the virus through sweat or saliva.
Patrick Otim, programme area manager for emergency response at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, explained this in a video addressing questions about Ebola transmission.
Otim said male survivors should receive counselling on safer sex practices and be provided with condoms after leaving treatment centres. He added that they should undergo regular semen testing until they record two consecutive negative results.
“Ebola virus after recovery and for patients with what we call a viral persistence can be transmitted through sexual intercourse,” he said.
He explained that the virus could persist in certain parts of the body even after clinical recovery, creating a risk of transmission through infected semen.
The WHO recommends that male survivors practise safer sex for 12 months if semen testing is unavailable. Where testing is accessible, survivors should undergo regular tests until they obtain two consecutive negative results.
Sweat and saliva
Otim said survivors who had recovered and been discharged from treatment centres were not expected to transmit Ebola through sweat or saliva because they would have cleared the virus from their blood.
He explained that patients must have two negative blood tests before discharge, adding that survivors who meet the discharge criteria are not expected to transmit the virus through these fluids.
However, he warned that people who remain actively ill can transmit Ebola through sweat and other bodily fluids.
Outbreak raises concerns
The clarification comes amid an Ebola outbreak involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Kenya.
Nigeria confirmed an imported case on October 20. The patient, a 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman living in Abuja, was evacuated to Switzerland with her husband on October 26.
Although the WHO said Nigeria had no active confirmed cases following the evacuation, health authorities continued to monitor contacts and implement containment measures.
In the DRC, the outbreak had recorded 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths, according to figures released on Tuesday by the country’s Ministry of Public Health.
