Could Ebola be Transmitted Sexually?

Researchers are still working to determine all the ways in which the Ebola virus can spread. Just within the last week, 158 deaths were reported within West Africa.

Scientists are already aware that this infection can spread through contact with bodily fluids; this midght include things like blood, feces, sweat, saliva, tears, vaginal secretions and semen. Specifically looking at the last two, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nasthville, Tennessee, now believes that it could also be possible to catch Ebola through sex. However, he added that it's unlikely.

"Of all the modes of transmission, that's going to be the last," Schaffner said, via Live Science. "It's a little like asking me, 'If we're all going to go from New York to San Francisco, will one of us walk?' That doesn't happen too often."

The virus stays at very low numbers in the body during the initial period following infection. As a result, Ebola isn't typically found in bodily fluids until people are feeling quite ill. Due to the harsh symptoms of the diseases, ranging from fever, weakness, and muscle pain to headaches and sore throat, Schaffner notes that infected individuals are unlikely to want to engage in intimate relations. As the health issue rapidly progresses, more severe symptoms are likely to progress, including vomiting, difficulty breathing, diarrhea and potential impaired kidney and liver function.

Unlike other infections that can spread sexually, such as HIV, those infected with Ebola are not contagious until they actually start showing symptoms. Similarly, in relation to various viral diseases, Ebola cannot be spread through airborne droplets via a sneeze or cough.

The virus also carries the ability to live on for a short period after death. This has been particularly difficult for part of West Africa where villagers respect the death of a loved one by bathing their corpse, according to the Associated Press (AP). This tradition can also encourage the spread of the disease, according to Schaffner.