How does the Ebola virus mutate and infect humans? (Next)

Why is this so? Remember, glycoprotein is like a key, perfect for opening special molecular locks in host cells.
, the A82V variant is key to regulating shape, making it better suited to the molecular locks of human cells.
A82V makes it easier for keys to turn and easier to start the infection process, says Mr Luban.
and Luban are planning experiments to test their guesses.
bigger question is: How does the A82V affect the latest outbreak? Has the evolution of the ability to enter human cells also changed the ability of viruses to spread, replicate, or kill? Does this explain why more people and more people have died in this outbreak than in the last? There is no conclusive evidence, but people infected with the mutated virus have a 27 per cent higher mortality rate than those infected with the original virus, possibly due to a lack of medical facilities.
the virus appeared shortly after the outbreak began, but also some time before the infected person entered a more densely populated urban area.
it is not yet clear whether these mutant viruses have caused the outbreak to scale up and last so long.
so far, neither team has tested the virus in the lab, and neither has tested the real Ebola virus.
to see how the A82V variant is different, they need to test the monkeys for real viruses.
but this is a huge challenge, as such research can only be carried out in the most rigorous biosecurity laboratories.
Ebola virus itself is already deadly, what if its variants were slightly more lethal? We won't know until we go to the lab.
it is worth noting that even without the effects of A82V, the Ebola virus is already quite good at infecting humans and spreading them from person to person.
may be because certain strains have mutated in bat populations, making them easier to spread to humans.
these human-specific adaptations may have an impact on the research currently under way.
to test this hypothesy, researchers need to strip and compare the Ebola virus from humans and animals.
but such studies are almost impossible because we don't have any Ebola virus in bats yet, and we're not even sure if there's a virus in bats.
who hosts it, where the Ebola virus is hiding, the Ebola outbreak has been stopped and the A82V variant is likely to have disappeared.
, they may come back in the future, and perhaps the next outbreak will produce completely different mutations that will make it easier for the virus to spread from person to person.
either way, these studies highlight the need for vigilance, constant surveillance of new infectious diseases, and the ability of viruses to rapidly adapt to the human body.
lesson applies not only to the Ebola outbreak, but also to other situations, mr. Bauer said.
you can't ignore the fact that these viruses are evolving and are adapting better to human infections.
we have ignored mers coronavirus, which is still wreak havoc in the Arabian Peninsula.
the virus is endemic in camels and human infections continue to occur.
we can't always rely on good luck like winning the lottery to deal with an epidemic of infectious diseases.
(Little) Source: ScienceDaily