Ebola Virus In West Africa Is New Strain, Study Says

News outlets reference a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting the Ebola virus in West Africa is a new strain.

Associated Press: Ebola virus in Africa outbreak is a new strain
“The Ebola virus that has killed scores of people in Guinea this year is a new strain — evidence that the disease did not spread there from outbreaks in some other African nations, scientists report…” (Marchione, 4/16).

VOA News: New Ebola Strain Causing West Africa Outbreak
“…[Researchers] confirmed that [the Ebola virus] is a member of the Zaire species, which kills most of its victims. Strains of that virus have caused outbreaks previously in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But this virus is a new strain, a previously unknown sister in the Zaire family…” (Baragona, 4/16).

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