West Africans who survived Ebola are now facing chronic conditions like joint pain and eye inflammation that can lead to blindness, Reuters reports World Health Organization experts said Friday. Of the 13,000 survivors in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, the ones more likely to suffer ongoing medical issues are the ones who fought off the most severe cases of the infection.
About 50 percent of survivors experience joint pain, and 25 percent have reported eye problems like inflammation, impaired vision, and even blindness. Survivors also face increasing rates of depression, PTSD, and social exclusion.
The virus has been around since 1976, but 2014's outbreak in West Africa is by far the largest, so experts can't yet say whether the chronic conditions being reported are out of the ordinary.
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