International meeting on persistence of Ebola virus RNA in semen and implications for public health

Overview

A better understanding of how long the virus remains in body fluids other than blood and which host factors determine persistence in the body fluids is essential to shape appropriate public health guidance.

To address the concerns of survivors and the research emerging from this field, in collaboration with John Snow Incorporation, and the United States National Institutes of Health, WHO convened a meeting of principal investigators, scientists and national programme officers involved in research with Ebola survivors in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from 28-30 June 2017 in Monrovia, Liberia.

The specific objectives of the meeting were to:

• review and compare findings from survivor cohorts in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and other settings;
• review and compare findings from national semen testing programmes and other non-research settings;
• discuss the revision of public health recommendations related to sexual transmission of Ebola virus disease; and
• define a research agenda to address remaining questions and to inform research responses around viral persistence in future EVD outbreaks.