New Concerns: Ebola Found In Patients Months After Virus Left The Blood.
Did the Ebola virus ever really go away? According to new findings, the answer is no.
Ebola has been discovered inside the eyes of patients months after the virus was gone from their blood.
Although the virus is thought to be able to persist in semen for several months, some survivors have reported eye issues.
Ebola has infected more than 26,000 people since December 2013, just in West Africa alone.
The new report concerns Dr Ian Crozier, a 43-year-old American physician diagnosed with Ebola in September while working with the World Health Organization in Sierra Leone.
Crozier was treated at Emory University Hospital’s Specialty Ebola unit in Atlanta and was released in October, when the virus was no longer detected in his blood.
However, two months later, he developed an inflammation and very high blood pressure in one eye, causing swelling and potentially serious vision problems.
He returned to Emory, where ophthalmologist Dr. Stephen Yen drained some fluid and had it tested for Ebola. The fluid tested positive for the virus, but the tears and tissue that surround the outside of the eye did not.
Dr. Jay Varkey, and Emory infectious disease specialist, said those involved in Crozier’s care were wearing protective gear and monitored themselves for Ebola symptoms for several weeks afterward as a precaution.
What we do know is that this Ebola outbreak is still not over. They are finding it lurks an unknown places, waiting to spread among others.
