Skip to main content

India Quarantines Ebola Survivor Because Of Infectious Semen

India has record no Ebola cases, but the country is on high alert and has quarantined hundreds of travelers from West Africa. This hospital in New Delhi has set up an Intensive Care Unit for potential Ebola patients.



The headlines circulating on the Web Tuesday may have given you pause: "India's First Ebola Patient Has Been Quarantined," Time Magazine wrote on its website. "Man tests positive for Ebola, kept under isolation," Press Trust of India declared.

But those headlines don't tell the full story.

An Indian man, who had previously recovered from Ebola, flew from Liberia to Delhi on Nov. 10, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said Tuesday in a statement.

A comparison of reproduction numbers, or R0s, for several viruses. R0 is one measure of contagiousness.
Shots - Health News
No, Seriously, How Contagious Is Ebola?
At the Delhi airport, the 26-year-old immediately told officials his medical history: He was successfully treated for Ebola in Liberia and released from a health facility back in late September. When he boarded the plane, he had no symptoms.

The man's blood tested negative for Ebola, three times at the airport. But the virus was still lingering in one bodily fluid — his semen, health officials said.

That's not a surprise. Doctors have known for decades that the Ebola virus persists in semen for months after a person recovers from the disease.

"That's because antibodies produced in the bloodstream don't reach the testicles," said Marie-Christine Ferir, an emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, based in Brussels.

A mock patient is wheeled in an isolation pod during a drill at the biocontainment unit in the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
Goats and Soda
How Do You Catch Ebola: By Air, Sweat Or Water?
"Since Ebola can be transmitted through sexual contact," she said, "male survivors are sent home with condoms and instructed to use them for the next three months if they engage in intercourse."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends that men abstain from sex for three months after recovery from Ebola.

But India is being more cautious. They are quarantining the man at the Delhi airport until his semen is free of the virus, the Ministry of Health said in the statement.

"This would rule out even the remote possibility of spread of this disease by the sexual route," the statement said. "The situation is under control and there is no need for any alarm."

Virologist Alan Schmaljohn, of the University of Maryland, said he doesn't know of a case in which a man passed Ebola to his partner through sex. But it has happened with a virus related to Ebola.

Back in 1967, a German man transmitted Marburg virus to his wife four months after he was discharged from the hospital and declared cured.

"Sexual transmission of Ebola is a significant risk," Schmaljohn said.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Virat Kohli Confirms Relationship With Anushka Sharma, Asks for Privacy

Mumbai: India's top batsman Virat Kohli has asked the public to use common sense on his much talked about relationship with Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, saying they indeed are seeing each other and their privacy should be respected. "It is out in the open (Jo hai sabke saamne hai abhi). We are not hiding anything, we are not trying to hide anything. I don't want to hide anything. But if you get repeatedly asked on the same thing and if it is made a matter of debate then both the individuals don't feel it is right," said Kohli at the launch of his fashion line here on Thursday. Kohli said it was already obvious that he and Anushka were in a relationship and people should not be curious about them anymore. "If you are seen together somewhere and still people ask 'is it confirmed?', then it is a matter of common sense. If you know then why ask the same question, that is our basic logic behind it. It is not something wrong apparently for people that ...

Kanchana Ketkaew (Thailand) who have so many SCORPIONS friends

Kanchana Ketkaew (Thailand), lived in a glass room measuring 12 m² (130 ft²) containing 5,320 scorpions for 33 days and nights at the Royal Garden Plaza, Pattaya, Thailand, from 22 December 2008 to 24 January 2009. Over the 33 days, she was stung thirteen times.  

Get Up to 30% off on medicines + 20% ecash in Medlife - Medlife Coupon

Medlife Coupon, Get Up to 30% off on medicines + 20% ecash in Medlife. Get Up to 30% off on medicines + 20% ecash in Medlife.New Users Valid in Banglore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Allahabad, Durgapur, Faridabad, Agra, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Gwalior, Howrah, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Bhopal, Kharagpur, Lucknow, Noida, Surat, Vadodara, Thane, Varanasi and most cities of Karnataka. Apply given Medlife Coupon code to avail discount. HURRY UP! Offer valid till Limited period only 31/10/2017 00:00:00. #PaisaBachao with #Couponstan - Get Up to 30% off on medicines + 20% ecash in Medlife - Medlife Coupon