Ebola outbreak caused by new ‘animal transmission’: What that means

Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3DR Congo Ebola outbreak kills more than 1,700 as WHO accelerates trialslist 2 of 3Ebola outbreak accelerates as healthcare workers strike over paylist 3 of 3DR Congo Ebola health workers protest unpaid wages as deaths surpass 1,800end of listOn Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the current Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus is spreading faster than health authorities can contain it and is on track to become the deadliest outbreak on record.“What the genomic data suggest is that the current outbreak began with a new ‘zoonotic spillover’ event – meaning the virus likely crossed independently from an animal reservoir into a person – rather than resulting from continued circulation or re-emergence of virus from a previous human outbreak,” she said.

Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases doctor with experience in Ebola and outbreak response, explained that the study citing a “new animal transmission” as the reason for the outbreak, does not mean that a new form of Ebola has suddenly emerged or that animals are now transmitting the virus differently.