Rapid Determination of Ebolavirus Infectivity in Clinical Samples Using a Novel Reporter Cell Line

Modern ebolavirus diagnostics rely primarily on quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), a sensitive method to detect viral genetic material in the acute phase of the disease. However, qRT-PCR does not confirm presence of infectious virus, presenting limitations in patient and outbreak management. Attempts to isolate infectious virus rely on in vivo or basic cell culture approaches, which prohibit rapid results and screening. In this study, we present a novel reporter cell line capable of detecting live ebolaviruses. These cells permit sensitive, large-scale screening and titration of infectious virus in experimental and clinical samples, independent of ebolavirus species and variant.