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PHILADELPHIA - Protein fragments, called amyloid fibrils, in human semen significantly increase Ebola virus infection and protect the virus against harsh environmental conditions such as heat and dehydration. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report these findings in a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Although Ebola is transmitted primarily through direct contact with blood and other bodily fluids from infected people, follow-up studies from the 2014 epidemic found that men can harbor the virus in their semen for at least 2.5 years, with the potential to transmit the virus sexually during that time. The Penn team surmises that targeting amyloids in semen could prevent a sexually transmitted spread of the Ebola virus.
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Although Ebola is transmitted primarily through direct contact with blood and other bodily fluids from infected people, follow-up studies from the 2014 epidemic found that men can harbor the virus in their semen for at least 2.5 years, with the potential to transmit the virus sexually during that time. The Penn team surmises that targeting amyloids in semen could prevent a sexually transmitted spread of the Ebola virus.
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