Ebola: the evolution of a dreaded virus
Ebola virus
In the EU project “EVIDENT”, scientists investigated around 180 patient samples from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, to elucidate the origin of the epidemic in the individual countries and the evolution of the virus. DZIF scientists also participated in this study, the results of which are now published in Nature.
In 2014, the largest Ebola epidemic known to date spread rapidly in West Africa and has caused over 11,000 deaths up to now. Until now, solely epidemiological data on the origin and the course of spread have been available. Since the start of the outbreak in March 2014, teams of scientists from the “European Mobile Laboratory Project” (EMLab) have been on the ground in Guinea to conduct Ebola diagnostics. The Ebola patient samples collected there have now served as a basis for the scientists to characterise the virus more precisely.
Reports on changes in the hereditary information of the virus caused a stir in 2014. Consequences could include a more rapid spread of the virus and a loss of effectiveness of drugs and vaccines. The current study, however, shows that the course of the virus’ evolution is slower than previously assumed, and that changes in a surface protein which is important for vaccinations have only been observed rarely. These findings raise hopes that the vaccines currently undergoing clinical trials will also be effective in future.
In the study, the evolution of the Ebola virus, meaning the change in its hereditary information, was traced back using modern sequencing techniques and mathematical models. The calculations show that the virus was only transmitted from the animal world to humans one single time in Guinea in December 2013. This finding confirms previous epidemiological assumptions. The virus then spread from Guinea to Sierra Leone and Liberia at the end of April.
EMLab and “EVIDENT” coordinator Prof Stephan Günther from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) and the DZIF explains: “We need to further develop the resources required to react rapidly in the event of an outbreak.” The BNITM is a member of the DZIF, where the research field "Emerging Infections" is working intensively on Ebola.
