Even After Mom Recovered From Ebola -- The Virus Was Still Detected In Her Breast Milk, For Weeks After... Babies Should Avoid.

This is yet another note of caution: we still do not fully understand when -- or how -- to declare people who recover from Ebola exposure. . . virus free -- and safe.

Here's CIDRAP, with the NEJM latest:

. . .The Ebola virus (EBOV) might persist in breast milk for weeks after maternal recovery, according to a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine. . . .

EBOV RNA persisted in the placenta and breast milk. To reduce the infant’s risk of contracting the disease, researchers kept the mother from breastfeeding and gave a prophylactic (preventive) monoclonal antibody to the newborn. During follow-up, the infant exhibited no signs of infection.

Ongoing testing showed that the mother’s blood remained negative, but viral RNA was still detectable in breast milk at 14 weeks after illness onset. To protect the newborn from transmission, clinicians used the drug bromocriptine to suppress lactation.

While the authors call for further studies and the use of viral culture to better assess infection risk, the findings suggest the potential for mother-to-child transmission while breastfeeding. Current World Health Organization guidance recommends that Ebola survivors avoid breastfeeding until viral clearance is confirmed. . . .

Now you know -- we must accept that these viral vectors are quite hardy. Go now, and do be excellent to one another. . . as we all know that one way to avoid having to discern when the virus RNA has cleared, is to vaccinate, and never get Ebola in the first place. To conduct wide public vaccination campaigns, in all affected geographies. Onward.

नमस्ते