No Sex For Ebola Survivors Until After 175 Days--Says WHO

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are urging Ebola survivors to abstain from all forms of sex or use condoms until more information becomes available about the Ebola disease.This is also in line with the Government of Liberia and WHO updated guideline on sexual transmission of the Ebola Virus Disease.WHO said while there are no verified evidence of sexual transmission of the virus between recovered Ebola patients and their sexual partners, it cannot rule out the risk of transmission.

Acting on evidence suggesting that a Liberian man who recovered from Ebola might have transmitted the virus to his female partner many months later, the WHO and the Liberian government issued similar recommendations in recent weeks. "Ebola genetic material was found in the semen sample of a man who had sexual interaction with a woman 175 days after he developed symptoms, 74 days longer than ever before found in a survivor, a situation that led to the woman's death," the update said.

The latest revelation does not change any aspect of previously announced Ebola preventive measures, the statement added.