Emergence of Zaire Ebola virus disease in Guinea

N Engl J Med. 2014 Oct 9;371(15):1418-25. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1404505. Epub 2014 Apr 16.

Abstract

In March 2014, the World Health Organization was notified of an outbreak of a communicable disease characterized by fever, severe diarrhea, vomiting, and a high fatality rate in Guinea. Virologic investigation identified Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) as the causative agent. Full-length genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed that EBOV from Guinea forms a separate clade in relationship to the known EBOV strains from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon. Epidemiologic investigation linked the laboratory-confirmed cases with the presumed first fatality of the outbreak in December 2013. This study demonstrates the emergence of a new EBOV strain in Guinea.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Base Sequence
  • Child
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Ebolavirus / classification
  • Ebolavirus / genetics*
  • Ebolavirus / isolation & purification
  • Female
  • Guinea / epidemiology
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / epidemiology*
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / virology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Viral / analysis
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • RNA, Viral