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Genetic Diversity of Bundibugyo Ebolavirus from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo
(bioRxiv, 2021) Omara, Isaac Emmanuel; Kiwuwa-Muyingo, Sylvia; Balinandi, Stephen; Nyakarahuka, Luke; Kiconco, Jocelyn; Kayiwa, John Timothy; Mboowa, Gerald; Jjingo, Daudi; Lutwama, Julius J.
The Ebolavirus is one of the deadliest viral pathogens which was first discovered in the year 1976 during two consecutive outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. Six known strains have been documented. The Bundibugyo Ebolavirus in particular first emerged in the year 2007 in Uganda. This outbreak was constituted with 116 human cases and 39 laboratory confirmed deaths. After 5 years, it re-emerged and caused an epidemic for the first time in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the year 2012 as reported by the WHO. Here, 36 human cases with 13 laboratory confirmed deaths were registered. Despite several research studies conducted in the past, there is still scarcity of knowledge available on the genetic diversity of Bundibugyo Ebolavirus. We undertook a research project to provide insights into the unique variants of Bundibugyo Ebolavirus that circulated in the two epidemics that occurred in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo