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Reduced evolutionary rate in reemerged Ebola virus transmission chains.

Blackley DJ; Wiley MR; Ladner JT; Fallah M; Lo T; Gilbert ML; Gregory C; D'ambrozio J; Coulter S; Mate S; Balogun Z; Kugelman J; Nwachukwu W; Prieto K; Yeiah A; Amegashie F; Kearney B; Wisniewski M; Saindon J; Schroth G; Fakoli L; Diclaro JW II; Kuhn JH; Hensley LE; Jahrling PB; Stroher U; Nichol ST; Massaquoi M; Kateh F; Clement P; Gasasira A; Bolay F; Monroe SS; Rambaut A; Sanchez-Lockhart M; Laney AS; Nyenswah T; Christie A; Palacios G

Sci Adv 2016 Apr; 2(4):e1600378

https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1600378

20048360

On 29 June 2015, Liberia's respite from Ebola virus disease (EVD) was interrupted for the second time by a renewed outbreak ("flare-up") of seven confirmed cases. We demonstrate that, similar to the March 2015 flare-up associated with sexual transmission, this new flare-up was a reemergence of a Liberian transmission chain originating from a persistently infected source rather than a reintroduction from a reservoir or a neighboring country with active transmission. Although distinct, Ebola virus (EBOV) genomes from both flare-ups exhibit significantly low genetic divergence, indicating a reduced rate of EBOV evolution during persistent infection. Using this rate of change as a signature, we identified two additional EVD clusters that possibly arose from persistently infected sources. These findings highlight the risk of EVD flare-ups even after an outbreak is declared over.

Ebola virus disease; Epidemiology; Disease incidence; Infectious diseases; Infectious agents; Disease transmission; Global health; Genomics; Viral diseases; Viral infections; Disease control; Infection control; Humans; Sampling; Surveillance; Ribonucleic acids; RNA; Author Keywords: Ebola virus; reemerged; transmission chain; reduced evolutionary rate; Liberia; Ebola virus disease; Western Africa; flare-up; persistent infection

Gustavo Palacios, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA

SACDAF

20160429

Journal Article

gustavo.f.palacios.ctr@mail.mil

2016

4

2375-2548

RHD

Science Advances

GA; MD; CA; WV