The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a clinical care document that outlines the interim guidance for the Ebola virus.
There are now more than 10,000 Ebola survivors in the world. There have been numerous health and medical issues found in Ebola survivors after the 2014 outbreak in West Africa, and most of these issues pertain to mental health problems.
Survivors continue to have signs of Ebola in certain body fluids, particularly semen, up to seven months after being cleared of Ebola. This means they remain contagious during sexual intercourse.
To address these issues, health care workers and Ebola survivors need guidelines for comprehensive support about the medical and psychosocial challenges. They need to learn how to minimize their chances of transmitting Ebola to anyone else.
The WHO document includes information about follow-up visits to the survivor, considerations for special populations, common sequelae of the virus, clinical management, recommended evaluation, monitoring for ongoing Ebola infections, testing and counselling guidelines, considerations for risk communication, control guidelines, and infection prevention.
