The WHO (World Health Organization) issued a statement today advising men who recovered from Ebola to abstain from sex for three months, to minimize the risk of passing the virus through their semen.

This appeal came in the wake of  four studies which reported presence of live virus in semen, up to 82 days, after the onset of symptoms. Studies done on a total of 43 patients found that  three men who had recovered from Ebola still had the live virus in their semen 40 days, 61 days and 82 days respectively after the onset of symptoms

The four studies were carried out in different countries, with the first dating back more than 30 years.

The WHO said that no case of sexual transmission of Ebola had been documented, and that, it was unclear whether semen that tests positive for Ebola is actually infectious.

Though evidence is weak , WHO is urging men recovering from the disease to use condoms for at least three months after the onset of symptoms.

The statement issued says, "because of the potential to transmit the virus sexually during this time, they should maintain good personal hygiene after masturbation, and either abstain from sex (including oral sex) for three months after onset of symptoms, or use condoms if abstinence is not possible."

Almost 16,000 people are known to have been infected with Ebola in the current outbreak and 5,689 of them have died. Symptoms of Ebola include fever, headache, diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases bleeding. The virus causes hemorrhagic fever, and there is, until now,  no cure or vaccine.

This is the biggest Ebola epidemic on record which started at the beginning of the year 2014, with almost all of them in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

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