How Long do Ebola Survivors Carry the Ebola Virus?

This question has received little attention in the media but is of major concern as we bring Ebola patients back to the U.S. for treatment and treat our own patients with Ebola.  Once a person becomes infected with Ebola there is race between the immune system and the Ebola virus—winner takes all.  In other words if our immune system can gear up fast and strong enough before the Ebola virus kills us our immune system will halt the infection and eventually destroy or force the Ebola virus into hiding.  The question we must concern ourselves with is simple: How long after “recovery” do we still have Ebola virus in our bodies and is it contagious?  There is very little data concerning the length of time Ebola remains in the bodies of survivors.  From the recent epidemic in West Africa the scientific evidence demonstrates that the Ebola virus can be found in certain body fluids up to 100 days post infection!  The safest place for Ebola to hide from the immune system following recovery is in the semen.  It is therefore theoretically possible for a “recovered” patient of Ebola to sexually transmit the Ebola virus up to at least 100 days post initial infection.  Other body fluids have also been found to harbor the Ebola virus. Infection from other body fluids is therefore theoretically possible but there have been no studies with sufficient numbers of subjects to know the risk of transmission. Therefore even once a patient has “recovered” they may still be infectious for at least 100 days following initial infection and precautions must be observed.