Chinese researchers have detected increased genetic diversity in Ebola virus collected in Sierra Leone, providing an insight into how the virus has evolved, media reported on Thursday.
Wu-Chun Cao and his colleagues from the State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, China, carried out a large-scale genetic study on the Ebola virus.
They 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, according to the research paper published in Nature .
They found that the genetic diversity of the virus has increased substantially, with the emergence of several novel lineages, and the rate of virus evolution seems to be similar to that observed during previous Ebola virus outbreaks. They also said the variation in the Ebola virus genome may impact the effectiveness of candidate treatments or attempts to detect the virus. — IANS
