A. Sanchez et al., Detection and molecular characterization of Ebola viruses causing disease in human and nonhuman primates, J INFEC DIS, 179, 1999, pp. S164-S169
Ebola (EBO) viruses were detected in specimens obtained during the hemorrha
gic fever outbreak among humans in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC), in 1995 (subtype Zaire) and during an outbreak of disease in cynomo
lgus macaques in Alice, Texas, and the Philippines in 1996 (subtype Reston)
. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assays were developed and
proven effective for detecting viral RNA in body fluids and tissues of inf
ected individuals. Little change was seen in the nucleotide or deduced amin
o acid sequences of the glycoprotein (GP) of these EBO virus subtypes compa
red with those of their original representatives (i.e., the 1976 Yambuku, D
RC, EBO isolate [subtype Zaire] and the 1989 Philippines and Reston, Virgin
ia, isolates [subtype Reston]). The nonstructural secreted GP (SGP), the pr
imary product of the GP gene, was more highly conserved than the structural
GP, indicating different functional roles or evolutionary constraints for
these proteins. Significant amounts of SGP were detected in acutely infecte
d humans.