Even when a person has recovered from Ebola and his or her blood is Ebola-free, the virus can linger in the body. It can remain in semen for months after the initial infection. Late last year, it was found replicating in the eye of Ebola survivor Ian Crozier, an American physician who helped treat patients in Sierra Leone, nine weeks after he recovered from the illness. It has been detected in swabs of the bodies, amniotic fluid, and placentas of stillborn babies whose mothers were infected with and recovered from Ebola while pregnant, said Daniel Bausch, an emerging pathogens expert at Tulane University in New Orleans who worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) during the ongoing Ebola epidemic. Most recently, the virus has been detected in the nervous system of Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who recovered from Ebola about a year ago, but last month became very ill and ...
Ebola’s Immune Escape
The virus can persist in several tissues where the immune system is less active. Researchers are working to better understand this phenomenon and how it can stall the clearing of Ebola in survivors.
Written byAshley P. Taylor
| 4 min read
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