title: Viraemia and Ebola virus secretion in survivors of Ebola virus disease in Sierra Leone: a cross-sectional cohort study.
abstract: In survivors of Ebola virus disease, clinical sequelae including uveitis, arthralgia, and fatigue are common and necessitate systematic follow-up. However, the infection risk to health-care providers is poorly defined. Here we report Ebola virus RT-PCR data for body site and fluid samples from a large cohort of Ebola virus survivors at clinic follow-up.
  
  
  
  In this cross-sectional cohort study, consecutive survivors of Ebola virus disease attending Kerry Town survivor clinic (Freetown, Sierra Leone), who had been discharged from the Kerry Town Ebola treatment unit, were invited to participate. We collected and tested axillary, blood, conjunctival, forehead, mouth, rectal, semen, urine, and vaginal specimens for presence of Ebola virus using RT-PCR. We regarded samples to be positive for Ebola virus disease if the cycle threshold was 40 or lower. We collected demographic data from survivors of their age, sex, time since discharge from the treatment unit, and length of acute admission in the Ebola treatment unit using anonymised standard forms.
  
  
  
  Between April 2, and June 16, 2015, of 151 survivors of Ebola virus disease invited to participate, 112 (74%) provided consent. The median age of participants was 21·5 years (IQR 14-31·5) with 34 (30%) participants younger than 16 years. 50 (45%) of 112 participants were male. We tested a total of 555 specimens: 103 from the axilla, 93 from blood, 92 from conjunctiva, 54 from forehead, 105 from mouth, 17 from the rectum, one from semen, 69 from urine, and 21 from the vagina. The median time from Ebola treatment unit discharge to specimen collection was 142 days (IQR 127-159). 15 participants had a total of 74 swabs taken less than 100 days from discharge. The semen sample from one participant tested positive for Ebola virus at 114 days after discharge from the treatment unit; specimens taken from the axilla, blood, conjunctiva, forehead, mouth, rectum, and urine of the same participant tested negative. All specimens from the other 111 participants tested negative.
  
  
  
  Patients recovering from Ebola virus disease who do not meet the case definition for acute disease pose a low infection risk to health-care providers 6 weeks after clearance of viraemia. Personal protective equipment after this time might be limited to standard barrier precautions, unless contact with fluids from sanctuary sites is envisaged.
  
  
  
  Save the Children International, Public Health England.
authors.affiliation: Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool, UK. Electronic address: edwardgreen@doctors.org.uk.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: J C Gareth
authors.initials: JCG
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: Nina Marie
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Nissen
authors.affiliation: Regional Virus Laboratory, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.affiliation: Antiviral Unit, Public Health England, London, UK.
authors.forename: Anjna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Badhan
authors.affiliation: University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Sutherland
authors.affiliation: Public Health England Laboratories, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Jade
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.affiliation: University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Crosshouse, Kilmarnock, UK.
authors.forename: Samuel H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Worcester, UK.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laird
authors.affiliation: Kettering General Hospital, Kettering, UK.
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blackman
authors.affiliation: Virology Laboratory, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Collacott
authors.affiliation: Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Portsmouth, UK.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walbridge
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sia Jammie
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Sellu
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dama
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: Alpha Karim
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sheriff
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zombo
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ngegba
authors.affiliation: Sierra Leone Ministry of Health, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Alieh H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Wurie
authors.affiliation: Save the Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Checchi
authors.affiliation: Rare and Imported Pathogens, Public Health England, Porton Down, UK.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Brooks
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000209:etiology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D012807:Sierra Leone; D017741:Survivors; D014766:Viremia
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers