Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2025

Modeling The Lifecycle Of Ebola Virus Under Biosafety Level 2 Conditions With Virus-like Particles Containing Tetracistronic Minigenomes
10:11

Modeling The Lifecycle Of Ebola Virus Under Biosafety Level 2 Conditions With Virus-like Particles Containing Tetracistronic Minigenomes

Published on: September 27, 2014

36.3K

Update on the Phylodynamic and Genetic Variability of Marburg Virus

Fabio Scarpa1, Liliana Bazzani2, Marta Giovanetti2,3

  • 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy.

Viruses
|August 26, 2023
PubMed

Insights

The Marburg virus re-emerged in Equatorial Guinea during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the need for enhanced genomic surveillance. Understanding viral spread patterns is crucial for controlling Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreaks in Africa.

Area of Science:

  • * Epidemiology and Public Health
  • * Viral Phylodynamics and Genomics
  • * Infectious Disease Outbreak Response

Background:

  • * The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated healthcare system burdens in Africa, coinciding with intensified emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
  • * Equatorial Guinea experienced a resurgence of Marburg virus disease (MVD), a significant zoonotic outbreak, straining its already fragile healthcare infrastructure.
  • * The MVD re-emergence is suspected to be a zoonotic spill-over event, with transmission routes requiring further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To analyze the phylodynamics and genetic variability of the Marburg virus (MARV) based on available whole genome sequences.
  • * To advocate for enhanced active surveillance strategies to contain potential MVD outbreaks in Equatorial Guinea and across Africa.
  • * To identify distinct patterns of viral circulation to inform public health interventions.

Main Methods:

  • * Analysis of available whole genome sequences of the Marburg virus.
  • * Phylodynamic and genetic variability assessment of the MARV strains.
  • * Review of existing public health response strategies for infectious disease outbreaks.

Main Results:

  • * Confirmed at least two distinct patterns of Marburg virus spread: one slow, continuous, and recurring; the other faster, limited, and episodic.
  • * Demonstrated the critical need for strengthened genomic surveillance to effectively monitor and control pathogen dissemination.
  • * Highlighted the importance of prompt alert management, case investigation, contact tracing, and active case searching.

Conclusions:

  • * Strengthening genomic surveillance is paramount for effective containment of Marburg virus disease and other infectious disease threats in Africa.
  • * Implementing robust public health measures, including alert management and active case finding, is vital for healthcare system resilience.
  • * Understanding viral spread dynamics is essential for developing targeted strategies against re-emerging zoonotic pathogens.
Keywords:
AfricaMARVgenetic variabilitygenomic surveillancephylodynamics

More Related Videos

Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency18:10

Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency

Published on: June 16, 2011

29.6K
Rescue and Characterization of Recombinant Virus from a New World Zika Virus Infectious Clone07:35

Rescue and Characterization of Recombinant Virus from a New World Zika Virus Infectious Clone

Published on: June 7, 2017

9.8K

Related Concept Videos

Viral Mutations00:36

Viral Mutations

A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material...
32.4K
Modern Molecular Taxonomy01:29

Modern Molecular Taxonomy

Advancements in molecular biology have revolutionized the identification and characterization of bacteria, with multiple methods leveraging DNA sequencing for enhanced precision. As sequencing technologies improve and costs decline, these approaches are increasingly used in clinical, environmental, and evolutionary studies.Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) examines several housekeeping genes, essential chromosomal genes encoding cellular functions, to distinguish strains. Approximately...
52
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
58.5K
Genetic Variation01:25

Genetic Variation

Genetic variation is the diversity in DNA sequences found among individuals of the same species. This diversity is crucial for a species' survival because it helps organisms adapt to environmental changes. Genetic variation begins with fertilization, where an egg and sperm cell merge. Each of these cells carries 23 chromosomes, up to 46 in the fertilized egg. Chromosomes are long DNA strands that contain genes, the basic units of heredity.
Genes exist in different versions called alleles,...
322
Viral Recombination00:57

Viral Recombination

Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
23.5K
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
5.8K