Ebola viral cases have erupted in Guinea during the first quarter of 2021, with the risk level now “very high” that the disease will spread to neighbouring countries. Ebola virus represents one of the highest risk classes of pathogens; the virsu shows stability in aerosolized form and it is associated with high case-fatality rates. If an infected person does not recover, death due to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome occurs.
As to the origins of the current outbreak, it could be that these have a long history with a reason that presents a concern going forwards. According to the magazine Science, the Ebola virus causing the new outbreak does not significantly differ from the strain seen 5 years ago. This assessment is based on genomic analyses, undertaken by three independent research groups.
The implications of this led to the assumption that the Ebola virus strain currently casing problems has lain dormant in a survivor of the epidemic for all of this time. Once the current crisis has been averted, other similar cases will present future challenges for national healthcare systems. Scientists had previously determined that the virus could persist in a patient for 500 days. This now looks like a considerable underestimation.
According to Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown University in Washington DC: “This is truly mind-blowing…The implications for controlling Ebola are extremely worrisome.”
Cloak and dagger
Ebola is particularly deadly because it is adept at disguising itself as a dying cell. This is through cloaking itself in a lipid of a type typically not exposed at the surface of a cell unless a cell dies. The cell death response leads to the body’s immune system cells proceeding to transport the virus to other parts of the body, which leads to a dissemination of the viral infection.
Positive development
On a more positive news front, scientists have identified a previously unknown site located on the filovirus glycoprotein of the Ebola virus. It has been established that many small drug molecules can bind to this site and hence prevent infection. This is through blocking viral entry into cells.
The research appears in the journal PLoS pathogens, where the paper is titled “Evidence for distinct mechanisms of small molecule inhibitors of filoviral entry.”
Research is also taking place to develop a universal vaccine for Ebola viruses designed to neutralize all four species of the viruses infecting people in the recent African outbreak.
