{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T18:09:26Z","timestamp":1777486166440,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"11","funder":[{"name":"CDC Foundation"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000030","name":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000030","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Ebola virus (EBOV), species Zaire ebolavirus, may persist in the semen of male survivors of Ebola virus disease (EVD). We conducted a study of male survivors of the 2014\u20132016 EVD outbreak in Liberia and evaluated their immune responses to EBOV. We report here findings from the serologic testing of blood for EBOV-specific antibodies, molecular testing for EBOV in blood and semen, and serologic testing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in a subset of study participants.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>We tested for EBOV RNA in blood by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and for anti-EBOV-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for 126 study participants. We performed PBMC analysis on a subgroup of 26 IgG-negative participants.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>All 126 participants tested negative for EBOV RNA in blood by qRT-PCR. The blood of 26 participants tested negative for EBOV-specific IgG antibodies by ELISA. PBMCs were collected from 23\/26 EBOV IgG-negative participants. Of these, 1\/23 participants had PBMCs that produced anti-EBOV-specific IgG antibodies upon stimulation with EBOV-specific glycoprotein (GP) and nucleoprotein (NP) antigens.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The blood of EVD survivors, collected when they did not have symptoms meeting the case definition for acute or relapsed EVD, is unlikely to pose a risk for EBOV transmission. We identified 1 IgM\/IgG negative participant who had PBMCs that produced anti-EBOV-specific antibodies upon stimulation. Immunogenicity following acute EBOV infection may exist along a spectrum, and absence of antibody response should not be exclusionary in determining an individual\u2019s status as a survivor of EVD.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciaa1331","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,3]],"date-time":"2020-09-03T11:11:24Z","timestamp":1599131484000},"page":"e3641-e3646","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Characteristics of Ebola Virus Disease Survivor Blood and Semen in Liberia: Serology and Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"73","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7507-6355","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aaron","family":"Kofman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA"},{"name":"Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Susanne","family":"Linderman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kaihong","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lawrence J","family":"Purpura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth","family":"Ervin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shelley","family":"Brown","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Morales-Betoulle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"James","family":"Graziano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Deborah L","family":"Cannon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"John D","family":"Klena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rodel","family":"Desamu-Thorpe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Center for Preparedness and Response, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"John","family":"Fankhauser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ELWA Hospital, 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Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Edna","family":"Freeman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Giah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Henry","family":"Tony","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mylene","family":"Faikai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mary","family":"Jawara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kuku","family":"Kamara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samuel","family":"Kamara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Benjamin","family":"Flowers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kromah","family":"Mohammed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Health Liberia, Men\u2019s Health Screening Program, Monrovia, Liberia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Chiriboga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Desmond E","family":"Williams","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Global Health, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Steven H","family":"Hinrichs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, 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