title: Ebolavirus Evolution: Past and Present.
abstract: The past year has marked the most devastating Ebola outbreak the world has ever witnessed, with over 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths. Ebola virus (EBOV) has now been around for almost 50 years. In this review, we discuss past and present outbreaks of EBOV and how those variants evolved over time. We explore and discuss selective pressures that drive the evolution of different Ebola variants, and how they may modify the efficacy of therapeutic treatments and vaccines currently being developed. Finally, given the unprecedented size and spread of the outbreak, as well as the extended period of replication in human hosts, specific attention is given to the 2014-2015 West African outbreak variant (Makona).
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.|Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: Marc-Antoine
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de La Vega
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.|Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.|Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.|Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.|Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gary P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Kobinger
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors