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Ebola Virus 'Rapidly Mutating' as Research Finds Almost 400 Mutations; International Aid Moves at a Snail's Pace

By Reissa Su | August 31, 2014 11:12 PM EST

Eight months after the first Ebola outbreak in Guinea, the virus is feared to be spreading out of control because of the lack of doctors, epidemiologists and nurses keeping Ebola at bay. According to the World Health Organisation, at least 1,552 people have died and predicted that more than 20,000 would be infected before the Ebola virus will be contained.

The rapid spread of the virus has prompted an international cry for help from the global health community and global powers. Reports said only countries with sufficient medical resources and funds have sent aid but it was not enough.

James Dorbor Jallah, the national coordinator of Liberia's Ebola Task Force, said the ebola virus is "moving at the speed of sound," but international aid is moving at the "speed of a snail." He revealed Liberia is predicting thousands of deaths by October.

Reports said WHO has led the international community in controlling major outbreaks like the SARS in 2003 and the H1N1 flu in 2009. Some officials have expressed the need for large groups of foreign aid workers and disaster management experts.

WHO has called for more medical staff, laboratories, hospital beds and other medical services to contain the Ebola virus within six to nine months. The UN has estimated the whole operations could cost $490 million. The cost would be funded by governments, the UN and other partner agencies.

Meanwhile, a group of researchers in Massachusetts claim that the Ebola virus is "rapidly mutating," which makes it difficult for doctors to diagnose and cure it. According to reports, a study found that nearly 400 genetic mutations of the virus were detected from the early patients in Sierra Leone.

The researchers fear the mutation rate will only be hampering the development of treatment including future vaccines.

The team of researchers from the Harvard University and Broad Institute in Massachusetts had examined more than 99 Ebola virus genomes collected from patients infected with Ebola during the first 24 days of outbreak.

The researchers' catalogue of 395 mutations can help other scientists in the ongoing study of the virus. The group said they hope that the findings will increase the understanding of Ebola and support the international effort to control it.

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