NIH Study Finds No Evidence of Accelerated Ebola Virus Evolution in West Africa

NIH Study Finds No Evidence of Accelerated Ebola Virus Evolution in West Africa





Ebola virus, isolated in November 2014 from patient blood samples obtained in Mali. The virus was isolated on Vero cells in a BSL-4 suite at Rocky Mountain Laboratories.
Credit: NIAID RML
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NIH Study Finds No Evidence of Accelerated Ebola Virus Evolution in West Africa

Data from NIH scientists indicates that the Ebola virus circulating in humans in West Africa is undergoing relatively few mutations, none of which suggest that it is becoming more severe or transmissible. Their new study compares virus sequencing data, spanning nine months, from samples taken from patients in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Mali. Based on their data it is unlikely that the types of genetic changes thus far observed would impair diagnostic measures, or affect the efficacy of candidate vaccines or potential virus-specific treatments.