‘Cured’ of Ebola disease in Liberia, Indian man isolated in Delhi after a positive test

He is the first confirmed patient diagnosed with the virus to have landed in India, according to Health Ministry officials. Though his blood samples tested negative for Ebola in three different tests, ministry officials confirmed that his semen samples, which were analysed on November 17, tested positive for the virus.

The tests were performed at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Delhi. He will be kept in isolation till his body fluids test negative “as a matter of abundant caution”, the ministry said.

Authorities said the isolation is necessary to “rule out even the remote possibility of spread of this disease by the sexual route”.

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“Presence of virus in his semen samples may have the possibility of transmitting the disease through sexual route up to 90 days from time of clinical cure,” a ministry statement issued on Tuesday evening said.

“The situation is under control and there is no need for any alarm,” the statement added said. According to officials, “it is a known fact” that during convalescence from Ebola virus disease, patients may continue to shed the virus in body fluids for a “variable period”.

Officials said that all precautions are being taken in the isolation centre.

Officials said three blood samples of the passenger, tested at NCDC between November 10-13, were found negative for Ebola virus disease in Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests. “While WHO and CDC guidelines state this as evidence of cure, in the current outbreak, it has been seen that the virus may continue to be positive in secretions like urine and semen for a longer time. So, before releasing him from quarantine, a decision was taken to test his other body fluids,” an official said. The semen sample analysed at NCDC on November 17 tested positive for Ebola virus by RT-PCR. The test for semen samples repeated at NIV the same day also tested positive.

The ministry statement said, “Currently, this person does not have any symptoms of the disease. However, he would be kept under isolation… till such time his body fluids test negative and he is found medically fit to be discharged. It is reiterated that the person concerned is a treated and cured case of Ebola virus disease. No cases of relapse of Ebola have been documented.”

According to officials, during the mandatory screening at Delhi Airport for passengers returning from Ebola-hit West African countries, the passenger gave a history of fever, for which he was admitted to a health facility in Liberia on September 11 and discharged on September 30. “He carried a certificate of medical clearance from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Government of Liberia, mentioning that he has successfully undergone care and treatment related to Ebola virus disease,” the ministry statement said.