Recognize and control new variants of the deadly Ebola virus more quickly

There have been multiple Ebola outbreaks in the last decades. Since 2013, at least eight countries have been affected and 30,000 people have contracted the virus. The origin of these outbreaks is often unclear and they are caused by various ebolavirus variants. "At the moment, it often takes months to develop the right tools to fully characterise the genetic material of the ebolavirus causing an outbreak" explains Professor Jan Felix Drexler, a scientist at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and Charité. "However, this knowledge is crucial for developing specific diagnostic tests, identifying transmission chains and eventually controlling the outbreak."

The scientists in Professor Drexler's team have now developed a test which provides information about the genetic material of new ebolaviruses regardless of the species or the variant, that is, of the genetic makeup. The test is based on the commonly used polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using which the genetic material can be amplified in a manner that allows precise sequencing. The new test is compatible with various technical procedures such as high-throughput sequencing. It has been tested with four different ebolavirus species.

"In cases in which different regions and countries are affected by outbreaks of this kind in particular, it is necessary to establish whether the case in question relates to the spread of a previously known variant of the virus or a new outbreak," explains the virologist. This is exactly what the new test can now determine in one process. "Both in the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in future outbreaks, we may now be able to characterise the trigger more quickly and take appropriate effective measures to end the outbreak," says the scientist.

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Materials provided by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Ignacio Postigo-Hidalgo, Carlo Fischer, Andres Moreira-Soto, Patricia Tscheak, Michael Nagel, Markus Eickmann, Jan Felix Drexler. Pre-emptive genomic surveillance of emerging ebolaviruses. Eurosurveillance, 2020; 25 (3) DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.3.1900765