Makerere scientists identify genetic changes in Ebola Bundibugyo virus

What the report says

The Observer reported that researchers at Makerere University have found genetic changes in the Ebola Bundibugyo virus that may weaken the performance of some existing diagnostic tests. The work is being linked to efforts to design updated test kits in Uganda and to guide future work on treatments and vaccines for the strain.

According to the report, Col. Dr Henry Kyobe, a senior research scientist and incident commander at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, said genomic analysis suggests the virus is changing in ways scientists had not previously seen. The Bundibugyo strain was first detected in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district in 2007, during an outbreak the article says involved 149 confirmed cases and 42 deaths. Researchers cited by The Observer contrasted the strain’s apparent genetic shifts with the relative stability of the Ebola Zaire and Sudan strains over many decades.

Prof Bruce Kirenga, principal of Makerere University’s College of Health Sciences, said tests built around the virus’s earlier genetic profile may not detect the current strain as reliably if key target sequences have changed. He said the team is using the new genomic information to support Uganda-made diagnostics and to strengthen surveillance by tracing the source and spread of the outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Observer also reported that there is no approved vaccine or treatment specifically for Ebola Bundibugyo, although trials are underway, including an Oxford Phase I study of a ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine in 50 healthy adults. Prof Wilber Sabiiti of ICER said early work indicates remdesivir may still be active against the strain, but more evidence is needed. Uganda reportedly has no active cases, while DRC had recorded 2,344 confirmed cases and 930 deaths as of Monday.