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Photo: WHO / S. Hawkey
(photo archive)
By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leonean researchers discovered a new strain of Ebola virus, the government announced on Thursday [19659005]. Researchers from a USAID-funded joint US-West Africa study found this virus in bats in northern Bombali.
Two years after the end of the worst Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
But the researchers say that the new Bombali virus is distinct from other strains of the Ebola virus and it is unclear yet whether it could become the deadly disease.
"It is not yet known whether the Bombali virus However, the results show that it has the potential to infect human cells," said the scientists in a report.
"Further research is needed to better understand the study is part of the Predict Ebola Host Research Project in West Africa that brings together scientists from the University of California at Davis and from the University of Colombia in the United States and their counterparts in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia to improve understanding and preparation for future epidemics in the region.
The three neighboring countries of Africa West were hit hard by the Ebola outbreak that began in Guinea in December 2013 before spreading to Liberia and Sierra Leone. "The epidemic was declared by the US government. World Health Organization in 2016 after claiming more than 11,300 lives from nearly 30,000 registered cases
The Predict research is designed to monitor wildlife specimens for known pathogens as a result of the disease. ;epidemic In Sierra Leone, of the 241 bat specimens sampled, five were tested positive for Bomali virus.
The government announced that it would involve local communities in the region to raise awareness of this new strain. The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was caused by the Zaire virus discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, in 1976. It is the most common strain in the world. known mortal.
The Zaire Virus Hit the DRC Nine Times The latest outbreak was declared by WHO on Tuesday after a 10-week reemergence that claimed the lives of 33 people
The discovery in Sierra Leone brings to six the number of known strains of Ebola virus. Others are Sudan, Tai Forest, Bundibugyo and Reston
Ebola virus disease is an extremely deadly haemorrhagic fever that is spread through contact with bodily fluids from infected people and animals including non-human primates, bats and antelopes. 19659013] The Sierra Leonean government called for calm, fearing that the discovery would cause panic.
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