Looking for genetic clues to Ebola outbreak
Tests are underway to determine the genetic sequence of the Ebola virus behind an outbreak in Central Africa, a US Centres for Disease Control researcher said.
Dr Barbara Knust, an epidemiologist, said that scientists are looking for "clues" about where this strain of Ebola originated and how to treat it.
"That could help [us] understand how this virus is related to other viruses that have caused other Ebola outbreaks," she said.
The latest Ebola outbreak is in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a remote area near the border with the Central African Republic. The World Health Organisation said that as of May 24, Ebola had killed four people in the area and the number of suspected cases stood at 44.
The Ebola virus, which causes a type of haemorrhagic fever, killed more than 11,000 people across the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in 2014 and 2015.
Source: Voice of America