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. 2021 Dec;12(1):885-901.
doi: 10.1080/21505594.2021.1898169.

Pathogenicity and Virulence of Ebolaviruses with Species- and Variant-specificity

Satoko Yamaoka  1 , Hideki Ebihara  1
Affiliations

Pathogenicity and Virulence of Ebolaviruses with Species- and Variant-specificity

Satoko Yamaoka et al. Virulence. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Ebola virus (EBOV), belonging to the species Zaire ebolavirus in the genus Ebolavirus, causes a severe febrile illness in humans with case fatality rates (CFRs) up to 90%. While there have been six virus species classified, which each have a single type virus in the genus Ebolavirus, CFRs of ebolavirus infections vary among viruses belonging to each distinct species. In this review, we aim to define the ebolavirus species-specific virulence on the basis of currently available laboratory and experimental findings. In addition, this review will also cover the variant-specific virulence of EBOV by referring to the unique biological and pathogenic characteristics of EBOV variant Makona, a new EBOV variant isolated from the 2013-2016 EBOV disease outbreak in West Africa. A better definition of species-specific and variant-specific virulence of ebolaviruses will facilitate our comprehensive knowledge on genus Ebolavirus biology, leading to the development of therapeutics against well-focused pathogenic mechanisms of each Ebola disease.

Keywords: Bundibugyo virus; Ebola virus; Reston virus; Sudan virus; Taï Forest virus; case fatality rates; virulence.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Genomic organization and viral particle of ebolaviruses. The single-stranded, negative-sense genome consists of a linear RNA molecule of approximately 19 kb that is composed of seven genes: NP, VP35, VP40, GP, VP30, VP24, and L. The viral particles are filamentous in shape, consisting of a nucleocapsid core surrounded by a viral matrix protein VP40 and a host-derived envelope studded with GP spikes
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Ebola disease outbreaks and case fatality rates (CFRs) of EBOV, SUDV, and BDBV infections. Forest plot shows the average CFRs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the Ebola disease outbreaks by fixed-effect model with inverse-variance weighting. Meta-analysis was performed using R software with the metaphor package. The CFRs from the 2013–2016 EVD outbreak caused by EBOV-Makona variant is separately calculated from the average CFRs from all other EVD cases. N.A: not available due to small sample size
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Species-specific and variant-specific virulence of ebolaviruses. Viral ability to spread from macrophages to parenchymal cells, leading to severe organ damage, is one of the key phenotypic features determining ebolavirus pathogenicity. The numbers 1–6 shown in a table on the right are correlated with those shown in a figure on the left. *Including Kupffer cells. na: not available
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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