Researchers have found evidence that Reston virus may possibly cause Ebolavirus in humans.
With increasing incidence of those affected with the deadly Ebola virus, this new finding raises another concern about its diagnosis and management. A previous report revealed that survivors of the life-threatening Ebola virus suffer long-term neurological problems, with symptoms showing six months after contracting the disease.
The University of Kent study compared the Ebolaviruses that cause serious disease in humans against Reston viruses that do not.
The researchers used a computational analysis to study the genomic sequence of 196 Ebolaviruses. The specificity determining positions (SDPs) were identified in nine Ebolavirus protein that differentiates Reston virus from the four Ebolaviruses that are pathogenic to humans. Dr. Mark Wass and his team also did a computational prediction of what can happen should there be a variation in the sequencing of virus proteins.
Significantly, results showed that only a minute change in one virus protein, the VP24, is enough to make the Reston a disease-causing virus to humans. Therefore, there is a risk that if Reston virus would have few mutations, it can become a new health threat for humans.
Highlight On Reston Virus
Ebolaviruses have five members in the genus Sudan viruses, which include Tai Forest viruses, Bundibugyo viruses, Ebola viruses, and the Reston viruses. These Ebola viruses except for Reston viruses cause hemorrhagic fever in humans with a 90 percent fatality rate.
Reston virus (RESTV) was named after Reston, Virginia where it was first discovered in 1989 after crab-eating macaques imported from the Philippines was taken to the Hazleton Laboratories in Virginia. The 1989 outbreak of the disease was the first recorded Ebola virus outside of Africa and also the first to be identified as an Ebola virus in non-human primates. In 1990, it was described as the new strain of Ebola virus.
From 1989, there were only three cases of Reston virus infection and all sources lead to a monkey breeding facility in the Philippines. During the outbreaks, five infected individuals had the IgG antibodies that fight against the Reston virus. In 2008, Reston viruses were found in domestic pigs in the Philippines and caused respiratory problems and abortion in sows.
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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