Two new cases of Ebola have been reported in Guinea after two weeks with no new confirmed cases of the deadly virus in West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.
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There are more than 8,000 male Ebola survivors in the countries of West Africa, raising concern, especially in light of the new study, that carelessness about s*x could reignite the outbreak.
Liberia recently achieved this status and neighbouring Sierra Leone is almost halfway through the 42 days. The World Health Organization says it expected more cases despite a recent lull.
One case was found in the capital Conakry and the other in Forecariah, a town in western Guinea. “Of course we didn’t want it, but we did expect it. Guinea hadn’t got to the stage where we were looking at 42 days”.
The period of transmission of Ebola virus is considered to be over after a particular area sees 42 days with a single case of fresh strain of the disease.
The study only adds to concerns about the persistence of the virus, and its potential to be transmitted, in people previously thought to have been cured.
But nine of the men in the research still had traces of the Ebola virus 3 months after they recovered from the virus.
The Scottish nurse, who contracted the virus while working to combat the outbreak in Sierra Leone, was transferred from Glasgow to the Royal Free’s isolation unit on Friday due to an “unusual late complication of her previous infection”. The United Nations health agency has said the sexual transmission of Ebola from men to women is “a strong possibility” even though the disease is mainly spread by direct contact with other bodily fluids like blood.
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Ms Harris said that the trial comes to an end in mid-November, potentially putting a question mark over the use of the vaccine beyond that date.
