Daijiworld Media Network - Beijing

Beijing, Jan 27: Chinese researchers have identified a crucial mutation in the Ebola virus that significantly enhanced its infectivity during a major outbreak, offering vital insights for epidemic surveillance and future drug development.

The study, published in the journal Cell, examined the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 2018 and 2020 — the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history — which resulted in more than 3,000 infections and over 2,000 deaths, Xinhua news agency reported.

Professor Qian Jun of Sun Yat-sen University said the findings highlight the critical role of real-time genomic surveillance during major infectious disease outbreaks. “Such monitoring not only helps warn of changes in transmission risk but also enables prospective assessment of the effectiveness of existing drugs and vaccines, allowing authorities to adjust control strategies in advance,” he said.

The research sought to determine whether viral evolution itself, apart from healthcare system challenges, contributed to the prolonged duration of the outbreak. “Key viral mutations often act as invisible drivers accelerating transmission during major epidemics. Having studied Ebola for over a decade, we needed to examine whether similar mutation patterns were present,” Jun explained.

In 2022, the research team analysed 480 complete Ebola virus genomes and identified a variant carrying a specific mutation in the viral glycoprotein, named GP-V75A, which emerged early during the DRC outbreak. The variant rapidly replaced the original strain, with its increasing prevalence closely tracking the surge in case numbers, suggesting a transmission advantage.

Further experiments across multiple models confirmed the biological impact of the mutation. Researchers found that GP-V75A significantly enhanced the virus’s ability to infect various host cell types and mice.

The study also raised clinical concerns, revealing that the GP-V75A mutation reduced the effectiveness of some existing therapeutic antibodies and small-molecule entry inhibitors, indicating a potential risk of drug resistance.

The researchers stressed that continuous monitoring of viral genomes during outbreaks is essential to anticipate evolutionary threats and support the development of broad-spectrum countermeasures.