An Ebola patient (Photo : Reuters/James Giahyue)
According to new research, the Ebola virus is undergoing restricted mutational changes or is not mutating as fast as scientists feared.
The research was published in the journal Science. Los Angeles Times cited Thomas Hoenen, lead author of the study, who claimed, "Despite the extensive and prolonged human-to-human transmission in this outbreak, the virus is not mutating at a rate beyond what is expected."
Previous reports have indicated that the virus was mutating twice as fast as it had in the past. However, if the virus were changing that fast, it could probably develop resistance to experimental vaccines and treatments.
Scientists genetically sequenced Ebola samples taken from patients in Mali. The Ebola samples were taken from three patients who were infected in November last year and a young child who died from the virus in October last year. Scientists were surprised to discover that the Ebola sample from the young child showed only a few nucleotide differences from another sample that was collected in Sierra Leone six months earlier.
According to study authors, in the past, it was reported that Ebola viruses have been undergoing limited restricted changes during outbreaks and this phenomenon appears to be true in the present outbreak. The authors said that it is doubtful that the transmissibility or virulence has increased in Ebola virus strains.
The CDC Foundation reported that so far, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has killed more than 10,326 people and sickened 24,907 people. Most of the infections have taken place in Liberia, Leone and Guinea.
