Resurgence of Ebola virus in 2021 in Guinea suggests a new paradigm for outbreaks

Seven years after the declaration of the first epidemic of Ebola virus disease in Guinea, the country faced a new outbreak--between 14 February and 19 June 2021--near the epicentre of the previous epidemic.sup.1,2. Here we use next-generation sequencing to generate complete or near-complete genomes of Zaire ebolavirus from samples obtained from 12 different patients. These genomes form a well-supported phylogenetic cluster with genomes from the previous outbreak, which indicates that the new outbreak was not the result of a new spillover event from an animal reservoir. The 2021 lineage shows considerably lower divergence than would be expected during sustained human-to-human transmission, which suggests a persistent infection with reduced replication or a period of latency. The resurgence of Zaire ebolavirus from humans five years after the end of the previous outbreak of Ebola virus disease reinforces the need for long-term medical and social care for patients who survive the disease, to reduce the risk of re-emergence and to prevent further stigmatization. The viral lineage responsible for the February 2021 outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Guinea is nested within a clade that predominantly consists of genomes sampled during the 2013-2016 epidemic, suggesting that the virus might have re-emerged after a long period of latency within a previously infected individual.
Author(s): Alpha Kabinet Keita [sup.1] [sup.2] , Fara R. Koundouno [sup.3] [sup.4] , Martin Faye [sup.5] , Ariane Düx [sup.6] , Julia Hinzmann [sup.4] [sup.7] [sup.8] , Haby Diallo [sup.1] [...]