Tokyo: Ebola Survivors can recur and trigger an outbreak of at least five years after infection, and long-term follow-up of former patients is required to prevent flare-ups that destroyed, according to new research.
Scientists already knew Ebola can lie on the survivors, who tested negative for the virus is on the network rather than circulating in the blood.
But analysis of the outbreak this year in Guinea, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, found a “virus reservoir” This seems able to awaken and cause infection and new transmissions for years.
To trace the source of outbreaks of Guinea, involving 16 confirmed cases, 12 of them died, the researchers analyzed the genome samples from some patients.
Outbreaks of Ebola virus is usually considered to result from “spilling” of host animals to humans.
But the analysis shows the tension of Guinea is virtually identical to that of the 2013-16 wave.
If the virus has been circulating active in the community since that time, will accumulate mutations because the spread.
In contrast, the 2021 virus only has 12 changes, “much less than expected …
for six years-to-human transmission of human sustainability ‘.
It strongly suggest that source is re-activated virus that has been dormant in a survivor, said Alpha Keita, a researcher at the University of Montpellier who led the study.
“This is the longest known time between the end of the epidemic and the resurgence of the virus,” he told AFP.
“It’s a new paradigm: the possibility of transmission from an infected individual during the previous epidemic could be a source of new outbreaks.” How and why the Ebola virus is inactivated suddenly woke up and hurt someone remains a mystery, although there are some tantalizing clues.
Sometimes surge Ebola antibodies can be detected in survivors at any given time – a sign perhaps that the body responds resurgent virus.
About two-thirds of the survivors of Ebola have high levels of antibodies that even five years after infection, but “the question to pose is what happens if there is a resurgence in people whose immunity has dropped”, said Keita.
The study’s findings have “considerable implications for public health and the treatment of victims of Ebola,” said Robert F.
Garry of Tulane University medical school.
“Humans can now be added to the list of host medium that can serve as ‘reservoirs’ long-term ebola virus and trigger a new outbreak,” he wrote in a review commissioned by nature.
There is a need to prioritize health workers to vaccinate and monitor the Ebola survivors for signs of flare-ups, he added.
Keita said the broader definition of “Ebola Survivor” is now needed, beyond those who are struggling with the symptoms.
Even asymptomatic individuals “could be the starting point” for the outbreak, he warned.
“We need a long-term follow-up protocol that real …
so that we can catch the resurrection of infected people before.” He warned though follow-up should be done carefully to avoid alienating the survivors, a point which digema by Trudie Lang, Director of the Global Health Network University of Oxford.
“These people are considered a hero by some people because it survived,” he said.
“But (they) may also be stigmatized and excluded if there is a fear of these individuals who present a risk.” Lang, who was not involved in the study, said it offers “impressive new findings”.
This study illustrates “what we still do not understand, but really need to learn, if we want to overcome this dangerous threat,” he added.
Going forward, Keita would like to see work on what is causing the resurrection of research on combating the virus and Ebola reservoir on the survivors.
“We should consider the Ebola as a global problem,” he said.
“Each individual is exposed to a virus that has the serological response (antibody) is strong can be the starting point for a new awakening.”