Ebola Virus Could Have Mutated: Warn Scientists

The Ebola virus that caused the outbreak in Guinea has started to mutate, say scientists who are tracking the epidemic. It might get somewhat less deadly, but more contagious.

Researchers at the Institut Pasteur in France, which first identified the outbreak in March 2014, are investigating whether it could have become more contagious, the BBC reported.

Ebola Virus Disease | Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Cause Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment
Ebola is caused by a virus via direct contact with body fluids or infected blood. Scientists have identified five types of Ebola or Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus.

More than 22,000 people have been infected with Ebola and 8,795 have died in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Scientists are starting to analyze hundreds of blood samples from Ebola patients in Guinea.

They are tracking how the virus has changed and tried to establish whether it's able to jump more easily from person to person.

It's not unusual for viruses to change over a period time. Ebola is an RNA virus, like HIV and influenza, which have a high rate of mutation. That makes the virus more able to adapt and raises the potential for it to become more contagious.

Quiz on Flu
Influenza (or rather, the flu) is a cold weather infectious condition that affects the young and old alike. Though most reported cases are mild, the flu can sometimes cause severe and life-threatening complications in both children and adults, thanks to wrong medications and improper vaccinations. Learn more about the disease from our Flu Quiz and guard yourself and your family from a possible infection.

Another common concern was that while the virus has more time and more "hosts" to develop in, Ebola could mutate and eventually become airborne.

However, there's no evidence to suggest that this was happening, because the virus was still only passed through direct contact with infected people's body fluids.

Liberia 'Optimistic' of Zero Ebola Cases by February End
Liberia, which was the country worst hit by the Ebola outbreak, hopes to have no new cases by the end of February, according to Liberian Commerce Minister Axel Addy.

Researchers are using a method called genetic sequencing to track changes in the genetic make-up of the virus. So far they have analyzed around 20 blood samples from Guinea.

Another 600 samples are being sent to the labs in the coming months.

Quiz on Ebola
Why is the deadly Ebola virus outbreak making the health experts hit the panic button? Find out from this quiz.

Source-ANI