Africa: Ebola - Survivors Can Transmit Virus Through Sex, but Not Sweat or Saliva - WHO

What the report says

The World Health Organisation has clarified how Ebola can spread after recovery, saying survivors may still pass on the virus through sexual intercourse if it remains in semen, but are not expected to transmit it through sweat or saliva once they have been discharged from treatment. The explanation was given by Patrick Otim, a WHO Regional Office for Africa emergency response official, in a question-and-answer video reported by Premium Times and distributed by AllAfrica.

According to the report, WHO advises male survivors to receive counselling on safer sex and access to condoms after leaving treatment centres. It also recommends regular semen testing until two consecutive negative results are recorded. Where testing is not available, the agency says safer sex practices should continue for 12 months.

Otim said Ebola survivors who meet discharge criteria are considered free of the virus in their blood and therefore should not be able to spread it through sweat or saliva. He added, however, that people who are still ill can transmit the disease through sweat and other bodily fluids. The guidance comes as Ebola concerns continue in parts of Africa, including an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a recently imported case reported in Nigeria, where health authorities have been monitoring contacts and containment measures.