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New preliminary genetic analysis suggests that the current outbreak of Ebola in Guinea may be due to survivors of the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, rather than animal-to-human transmission. It suggests that.
according to Preprint reportThe outbreak probably began when the survivors infected their sexual partners with a deadly virus via semen — after the virus had been dormant in men for at least five years.
The analysis posted online on Friday was performed by scientists at the Pastor Institute in Senegal, Guinea, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Edinburgh, and Praesens Bio.
According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the longest period of time that survivors of Ebola were thought to have shed the virus 500 days..
According to a new report, the previous outbreak of Ebola caused 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. So far, the current outbreak in Guinea has resulted in 18 cases and 9 deaths. New York Times.
William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease epidemiologist and pandemic specialist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said: Medscape Medical News..
“Who Ebola virus “Until this news arrived, I think I thought this latest Ebola outbreak was the result of an introduction from an animal species, probably to the fruit bat, the human population,” Schaffner said.
“This gives a whole new public health resonance to the idea that male Ebola survivors have long been a potential reservoir for this infection,” he added.
In addition to the eyes and central nervous system, Schaffner explained that the testis is one of three immunologically protected places in the body where the Ebola virus is hidden.
Extensive vaccination?
He said the new report raises questions about whether some of the past outbreaks in Africa did not come from the wild, but because survivors began infection with their new partners. It was.
A particular risk of the virus lurking in the testes rather than in the eyes or central nervous system is that it can be sexually transmitted to someone, Schaffner said.
He said the results of the genetic analysis could exacerbate the stigma of survivors.
It also raises the question of whether widespread vaccination is needed in Equatorial Africa. In addition, the Ebola vaccine is very effective, but it is unclear how long it can protect people, he said.
“It would be very difficult to do that,” Schaffner said. “You will vaccinate millions of people.” He pointed out that other public health measures may be promoting the use of more condoms, but to this Comes with its own set of difficulties.
In the light of this latest news, male survivors will move to the spotlight of research and volunteers will be asked to provide semen specimens to see if this is a one-off event or a common occurrence. He said.
The location of immunologically protected areas in the body also complicates research other than seeking semen samples, Schaffner said.
He said the information in the report was compelling, as the current carrier virus was compared to the West African virus five years ago and the viruses were found to be nearly identical.
“This provided conclusive evidence from the laboratory that this could not have been a virus brought from the wild, because by this time the wild virus had accumulated many other mutations.” Schaffner said.
Angela Rasmussen, MD, Ph.D., a virologist at Georgetown University’s Global Health Sciences and Security Center in Washington, DC, said: twitter It, “[W]Even at low levels, viruses that have been replicated for 5-7 years are expected to have more mutations. Like hundreds. There are 12 of these. “
This is also genuinely shocking to me scientifically.
Based on the known mutation rate of EBOV/Makona, we'd expect viruses that have been replicating for 5-7 years, even at low levels, to have many more mutations. Like hundreds. These have 12.https://t.co/mePO21OQkQ
— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) March 12, 2021
Dr. Michael Ryan, MD, Head of Emergency at the World Health Organization (WHO), said at a briefing on Friday. WHO We have sent more than 30,000 vaccines to the country.
Schaffner does not disclose any relevant financial relationships.
Marcia Frellick is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. She has previously contributed to the Chicago Tribune, Science News, Nurse.com and was the editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, Cincinnati Enquirer, and St. Cloud (Minnesota) Times. Follow her on Twitter. @mfrellick
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