Chinese scientists identify key Ebola virus mutation

Chinese researchers have unveiled a crucial mutation in the Ebola virus that significantly enhanced its infectivity during a major outbreak, providing new insights for epidemic surveillance and drug development.

The study, published in the journal Cell, focused on the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 2018 to 2020, the second-largest in history, which caused over 3,000 infections and more than 2,000 deaths, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The research tells us that during major emerging infectious disease outbreaks, real-time genomic surveillance and evolutionary analysis of the pathogen are crucial," said Professor Qian Jun from Sun Yat-sen University.

"This is not only able to warn of changes in transmission risk but also to prospectively assess the effectiveness of existing drugs and vaccines, guiding us to preemptively adjust control strategies," Jun added.

A key question drove the research, namely, beyond the impact of local healthcare challenges, did viral evolution itself contribute to the Ebola outbreak's prolonged duration? "We have long been aware that key viral mutations often act as invisible drivers accelerating transmission during major outbreaks. Having worked on Ebola for over a decade, we had to investigate whether similar patterns of mutation existed for this virus," said Jun, explaining the team's motivation.