Life After Ebola
Results of follow-up show that on average one year after their initial period in hospital, 3 in 4 survivors still report health problems. 40% suffer from tiredness or fever, but also from muscular (38%) and abdominal pain (22%), vision disorders that are sometimes serious and can lead to blindness (18%), and depression (17%). One quarter of survivors also claim to be victims of stigmatisation. As regards persistence of the virus in the semen, this is true: it can be found up to 18 months after the acute phase. This study has led the researchers to define what they now call the post-Ebola syndrome. This work is published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. There are few data regarding people who have survived Ebola epidemics in the past. The reason: the too-small number of survivors and the inadequate structures for performing research in a state of emergency. The last epidemic of Ebola in West Africa was so large that it led both to an unprecedented number of deaths, an...