Ebolavirus Evolution: Past and Present.

The past year has marked the most devastating Ebola outbreak the world has ever witnessed, with over 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths. Ebola virus (EBOV) has now been around for almost 50 years. In this review, we discuss past and present outbreaks of EBOV and how those variants evolved over time...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marc-Antoine de La Vega, Derek Stein, Gary P Kobinger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS Pathogens
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4642951?pdf=render
Description
Summary:The past year has marked the most devastating Ebola outbreak the world has ever witnessed, with over 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths. Ebola virus (EBOV) has now been around for almost 50 years. In this review, we discuss past and present outbreaks of EBOV and how those variants evolved over time. We explore and discuss selective pressures that drive the evolution of different Ebola variants, and how they may modify the efficacy of therapeutic treatments and vaccines currently being developed. Finally, given the unprecedented size and spread of the outbreak, as well as the extended period of replication in human hosts, specific attention is given to the 2014-2015 West African outbreak variant (Makona).
ISSN:1553-7366
1553-7374