Ebola classification

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Guillermo Rodriguez Nava, M.D. [2]; João André Alves Silva, M.D. [3]

Overview

Ebola virus can be classified into 5 subtypes: Zaïre, Sudan, Reston, Tai (Ivory Coast) and Bundibugyo, according to the place of discovery.

The table below summarizes the ebola virus strains identified until now:

Ebola Virus Strain	Place of Discovery	Date Identified
Sudan ebolavirus	Nzara and Maridi, Sudan	Between June and November 1976
Zaire ebolavirus	Yambuku, Democratic Republic of the Congo	Between August and November 1976
Reston ebolavirus	Reston, Virginia, US.	November 1989
Ivory Coast ebolavirus	Tai Forest, Ivory Coast.	November 1994
Bundibugyo ebolavirus	Bundibugyo District, Uganda	November 2007

Among the five strains, Zaïre Ebolavirus carries the highest mortality rate.
A virus of the genus Ebolavirus is considered member of the species Zaire ebolavirus if:^[1]

It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, or the Republic of the Congo.
It has a genome with two or three gene overlaps (VP35/VP40, GP/VP30, VP24/L).
It has a genomic sequence that differs from the virus type by less than 30%.

A virus of the genus Ebolavirus is considered member of the species Sudan ebolavirus if:^[1]

It is endemic in Sudan and/or Uganda.
It has a genome with three gene overlaps (VP35/VP40, GP/VP30, VP24/L).
It has a genomic sequence different from Ebola virus by ≥30%, but different from that of Sudan virus by <30%.

A virus of the genus Ebolavirus is considered member of the species Reston ebolavirus if:^[1]

If its genome diverges from that of the prototype Reston virus, the Reston virus variant Pennsylvania, by ≤10% at the nucleotide level.

A virus of the genus Ebolavirus is considered member of the species Tai Forest ebolavirus if:^[1]

It is endemic in Côte d’Ivoire.
It has a genome with three gene overlaps (VP35/VP40, GP/VP30, VP24/L).
It has a genomic sequence different from Ebola virus by ≥30% but different from that of Tai Forest virus by <30%.

A virus of the genus Ebolavirus is considered member of the species Bundibugyo ebolavirus if:^[1]

It is endemic in Uganda.
It has a genome with three gene overlaps (VP35/VP40, GP/VP30, VP24/L).
It has a genomic sequence different from Ebola virus by ≥30%, but different from that of Bundibugyo virus by <30%.

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Kuhn, Jens H.; Becker, Stephan; Ebihara, Hideki; Geisbert, Thomas W.; Johnson, Karl M.; Kawaoka, Yoshihiro; Lipkin, W. Ian; Negredo, Ana I.; Netesov, Sergey V.; Nichol, Stuart T.; Palacios, Gustavo; Peters, Clarence J.; Tenorio, Antonio; Volchkov, Viktor E.; Jahrling, Peter B. (2010). “Proposal for a revised taxonomy of the family Filoviridae: classification, names of taxa and viruses, and virus abbreviations”. Archives of Virology. 155 (12): 2083–2103. doi:10.1007/s00705-010-0814-x. ISSN 0304-8608.