The evolution of Ebola virus: Insights from the 2013–2016 epidemic

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 538; no. 7624; pp. 193 - 200
• Main Authors: Holmes, Edward C., Dudas, Gytis, Rambaut, Andrew, Andersen, Kristian G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 13.10.2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/181/735; 631/208/182; 631/326/596/2042; Animals; Ebola virus; Ebolavirus - classification; Ebolavirus - genetics; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Evolution; Evolution, Molecular; Genome, Viral - genetics; Genomes; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola - epidemiology; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola - virology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Infectious diseases; Molecular Epidemiology; multidisciplinary; Mutation; Outbreaks; Phenotype; Phylogenetics; Public Health; review-article; Science; Studies; Viral infections; Zoonoses; West Africa; Sierra Leone
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/nature19790

The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease in West Africa was of unprecedented magnitude and changed our perspective on this lethal but sporadically emerging virus. This outbreak also marked the beginning of large-scale real-time molecular epidemiology. Here, we show how evolutionary analyses of Ebola virus genome sequences provided key insights into virus origins, evolution and spread during the epidemic. We provide basic scientists, epidemiologists, medical practitioners and other outbreak responders with an enhanced understanding of the utility and limitations of pathogen genomic sequencing. This will be crucially important in our attempts to track and control future infectious disease outbreaks. A comprehensive review of how analysis of genome sequences provided insights into the origins, evolution and spread of Ebola virus during the 2013–2016 epidemic in West Africa. Molecular epidemiology of the Ebola outbreak Large and deep datasets of genetic sequencing information for Ebola virus were generated during the 2013–2015 epidemic in West Africa. The outbreak marked a milestone in the use of large-scale molecular epidemiology as a tool to inform disease management. In this Review, Kristian Andersen and colleagues discuss how analyses of genome sequences provided insights into virus origins, evolution and spread during the epidemic.