Nomenclature- and Database-Compatible Names for the Two Ebola Virus Variants that Emerged in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2014
Open Access
- 24 November 2014
- Vol. 6 (11) , 4760-4799
- https://doi.org/10.3390/v6114760
Abstract
In 2014, Ebola virus (EBOV) was identified as the etiological agent of a large and still expanding outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa and a much more confined EVD outbreak in Middle Africa. Epidemiological and evolutionary analyses confirmed that all cases of both outbreaks are connected to a single introduction each of EBOV into human populations and that both outbreaks are not directly connected. Coding-complete genomic sequence analyses of isolates revealed that the two outbreaks were caused by two novel EBOV variants, and initial clinical observations suggest that neither of them should be considered strains. Here we present consensus decisions on naming for both variants (West Africa: “Makona”, Middle Africa: “Lomela”) and provide database-compatible full, shortened, and abbreviated names that are in line with recently established filovirus sub-species nomenclatures.Keywords
Funding Information
- DHHS (HHSN272200700016I)
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Emergence of Zaire Ebola Virus Disease in GuineaNew England Journal of Medicine, 2014
- Standards for Sequencing Viral Genomes in the Era of High-Throughput SequencingmBio, 2014
- Ratification vote on taxonomic proposals to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2014)Archiv für die gesamte Virusforschung, 2014
- Clock Rooting Further Demonstrates that Guinea 2014 EBOV is a Member of the Zaïre LineagePLoS Currents, 2014
- Reweaving the Tapestry: a Supertree of BirdsPLoS Currents, 2014
- Phylogenetic Analysis of Guinea 2014 EBOV Ebolavirus OutbreakPLoS Currents, 2014
- Discussions and decisions of the 2012–2014 International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Filoviridae Study Group, January 2012–June 2013Archiv für die gesamte Virusforschung, 2013
- Virus nomenclature below the species level: a standardized nomenclature for natural variants of viruses assigned to the family FiloviridaeArchiv für die gesamte Virusforschung, 2012
- Ratification vote on taxonomic proposals to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2012)Archiv für die gesamte Virusforschung, 2012
- Proposal for a revised taxonomy of the family Filoviridae: classification, names of taxa and viruses, and virus abbreviationsArchiv für die gesamte Virusforschung, 2010