CDC issues interim guidelines for treatment of Ebola survivors

Special consideration is merited for procedures that create the opportunity for contact with certain bodily fluids and tissues in which Ebola virus may persist, the CDC said. These include:

• obtaining and handling cerebrospinal fluid from an Ebola survivor with central nervous system symptoms;
• performing an invasive ophthalmologic procedure on an affected eye in a patient with ocular disease such as uveitis or cataract; and
• procedures involving exposure to semen, such as infertility evaluations and invasive procedures on the testes, prostate gland or seminal vesicles.

Nine of the 11 Ebola patients who were managed in U.S. health care facilities during 2014 and 2015 survived, according to the CDC. The agency said it is possible some Ebola survivors from the outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,300 people and infected nearly 29,000 could seek treatment in the U.S.

Although most patients who have fully recovered do not experience a relapse of Ebola associated with systemic illness, survivors can experience complications, including fatigue, joint pain, muscle aches and headaches, that vary in onset, severity and duration, the CDC said.

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