Ebola: Mapping the evolution of Ebola in
Sierra Leone
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Nature
Embargo
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London: Wednesday 13 May 2015 18:00 (BST)
New York: Wednesday 13 May 2015 13:00 (EDT)
Tokyo: Thursday 14 May 2015 02:00 (JST)
Sydney: Thursday 14 May 2015 03:00 (AEST)
The Ebola virus that is responsible for the current outbreak in Sierra Leone has increased in
genetic diversity since its initial introduction to the region, according to a large-scale genetic
study in Nature this week. This information provides an insight into how the Ebola virus has
evolved, which may facilitate efforts to control or prevent infections and could also guide
research on new treatments.
Research has suggested that variation in the Ebola virus genome may potentially impact the
effectiveness of candidate treatments or attempts to detect the virus. To learn more about how
the current Ebola virus is evolving, Wu-Chun Cao and colleagues analysed 175 Ebola virus
genome sequences collected from five districts in Sierra Leone during September to
November 2014, following a rapid growth of the outbreak. They find that the genetic
diversity of the virus has increased substantially, with the emergence of several novel
lineages. They note that the rate of virus evolution seems to be similar to that observed during
previous Ebola virus outbreaks.
The authors conclude that on-going extensive Ebola virus surveillance in West Africa offers a
valuable resource for understanding more about the current outbreak, which could help to
improveintervention methods.
Article and author details
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Genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of Ebola virus in Sierra
Leone
Corresponding Author
Wu-Chun Cao
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, China
Email: caowc@bmi.ac.cn, Tel: +86 10 63869835
DOI
10.1038/nature14490
Online paper*
http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature14490
* Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo
ends).