Ebola survivors face long-term neurological problems, researchers find

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Ebola survivors are continuing to suffer from neurological problems more than six months after infection, according to the early results of a new study.

The findings from research undertaken by US neurologists in Liberia appear to confirm suspicions that there are serious long-term effects of Ebola virus disease. They have been made public days after Pauline Cafferkey, the nurse who contracted Ebola while working as a volunteer in Sierra Leone, was admitted for the third time to the infectious diseases unit of the Royal Free hospital.

The study was carried out in Liberia by researchers from the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda. A team of neurologists travelled to Liberia, where they recruited 87 survivors of the epidemic for a study on the long-term impact on the brain. Four were excluded because of other conditions. The remaining 82 were examined by the team and compared with close contacts who had not contracted the Ebola virus.

Most of the survivors had health issues and neurological damage of some kind. “While an end to the outbreak has been declared, these survivors are still struggling with long-term problems,” said Lauren Bowen, the study’s author.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/25/ebola-survivors-face-long-term-neurological-problems-researchers-find

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Sarah Boseley
Thursday 25 February 2016 14.28 GMT

[Yo_Mama]

1. The virus may still be active in the brain. RNA has been detected in semen 13.5 months after Ebola

It's sad, but at least they survived.

Two-thirds of their study group had abnormal eye movements. That's not GOOD.

This article has more info on the problems and also cites someone with Ebola RNA in the semen 18 months later:
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35652095

The more they check, the more they find the virus persisting.

It does explain why they keep having pop-up infections in the three deeply impacted nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

It's time to look at anti-virals to see if these people can't be further treated.

WHO is recommending testing the semen of all male survivors until two negative RT-PCRs come up, and condom use until then. But is that funded? I think not:
http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/rtis/ebola-virus-semen/en/

But once again WHO is behind. The two-negative-tests routine is not reliable. Not only have they found someone whose sperm still had Ebola traces 18 months later, but they also found those who tested negative twice and then returned to positive later:
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/new-reports-highlight-long-term-risks-ebola-infection-limits-zmapp

So the virus simply must be lingering in immune-privileged zones and breaking out in some people. The brain is one of those zones.