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Chinese scientists report that the Ebola virus responsible for the outbreak in West Africa last year mutated at a normal rate, further alleviating fears that the virus had been able to evolve more rapidly than usual thanks to the prolonged and widespread nature of the epidemic. Ebola, like HIV and influenza, belongs to a class of virus with a high rate of mutation, and scientists had previously warned that it might evolve to become more contagious, and, in an extreme scenario, even airborne.
This latest report published in Nature corroborates an earlier study from March, showing that while the virus did mutate as it spread to new areas, it did so within the bounds of expected behavior. Early analyses had suggested that the virus might…
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Ebola virus evolved at normal rates during epidemic, scientists say http://www.danieluk.net/news/ebola-virus-evolved-at-normal-rates-during-epidemic-scientists-say/
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