Credit CDC PHIL
# 10,611
Yesterday’s surprise announcement that nine months after her release, UK Ebola Survivor Cafferkey Back In Isolation After Relapse, has sparked a flurry of media reports about the ability of the Ebola virus to reside – often hidden – inside a survivor long after they have been pronounced `cured’.
While a surprise to many, this very possibility has been raised previously in a number of blogs and papers by Dr. Ian Mackay in his VDU blog. Perhaps most presciently in last Augusts' post-Ebola syndrome or just chronic Ebola virus disease...?, but also in:
Ebola - the lesser transmission risks are still risks...
Ebola virus in semen is the real deal....
Lancet: Mackay & Arden On Ebola In Semen Of Convalescent Men
While the long-term carriage (and possible shedding) of the Ebola virus has been established, along with long-term sequelae from infection, for the first time we’ve seen what appears to be a relapse.
I say `appears’, since we know little about her present symptoms, and it is far from clear what part her Ebola virus infection (past, and presumably present) is playing in Ms. Cafferkey’s condition.
Today Ian weighs in on the possible ramifications of this latest turn of events. Follow the link to read:
Is the next Ebola virus revelation...reactivating infection?
Great. Are members of the Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) species the most educational viruses of modern times or what? I mean, we've "known" about EBOV since 1976, but the West Africa Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic is the epidemic that keeps on giving - we seem to learn a brand new thing every few months.
And the latest is a doozy although we don't know many of the details yet.
So what do we know about this new finding of a seeming return of infection in a former EVD case? Or is this new disease because of damage from the old infection?
