Newly Discovered Ebolavirus May Not Cause Severe Disease in Humans

Article

Researchers from the University of Kent's School of Biosciences have provided evidence that a newly discovered Ebolavirus may not be as deadly as other species to humans.

The new Bombali virus was discovered in bats in Sierra Leone and has also now been reported in bats in Kenya. To date, it was unclear whether the Bombali virus may be pathogenic to humans.

Dr. Mark Wass and professor Martin Michaelis developed a computational approach to compare the amino acid sequences of virus proteins to identify positions that determine whether a virus causes disease in humans. Their findings showed that certain positions in the VP24 protein of the Bombali virus are identical to the Reston virus, another member of the Ebolavirus family that is not pathogenic in humans. This is consistent with the origin of the Bombali virus, which was isolated from fruit bats that were cohabitating with humans in houses and other populated areas. Although this makes human contact highly likely, no disease outbreaks have been reported

Wass said, "Based on our findings, it does not seem likely that the Bombali virus causes severe disease in humans. However, we need to be careful as we know that a few mutations may change this and result in another Ebolavirus that poses a threat to humans. Hence, Bombali virus evolution should be carefully monitored."

The study, "Is the Bombali virus pathogenic in humans?" by Henry Martell, Stuart Masterson, Jake McGreig, Martin Michaelis, Mark Wass, was published in the journal Bioinformatics. See: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btz267

Source: University of Kent 

Recent Videos
Roundtable of Vet IPs
Meet Marjorie Wall, EDBA, CRCST, CIS, CHL, CSSBB.
A veterinarian in a protective suit takes tests on animals on a farm.   (Adobe Stock 829620654 by Яна Ерік Татевосян)
David Angulo, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fungal Disease Expert
Neatly Stacked Hospital Linen, Clean Fabric in Turquoise, White, and Blue Hues. Created by AI.  (Adobe Stock 1103251410 by HQAsset)
Valerie Cadet, PhD, a virologist, immunologist, and vaccinologist at PCOM Georgia
Vector-borne Diseases  (Adobe Stock)
Chicago’s Dental Society Midwinter Meeting  (Adobe Stock 7622055 by abricotine)
Cameron Memorial Community Hospital Series With ICT
Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, MD, senior fellow of the George W. Bush Presidential Center
Related Content