In response to the 2013–15 EVD outbreak, short-term funding became available for updating and enhancement of the filovirus section of the HFV database. The Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses (HFV) Database at Los Alamos National Laboratory ( ( 20), extant from 2009, includes filoviruses for the past few years, due to lack of funding, this database was not actively curated other than minimal integration of new sequences as they appeared in GenBank. The Ebolavirus Virus Pathogen Resource hosts data and web-based tools for sequence and structure analysis, comparative genomics and phenotype studies ( 19). The NCBI Virus Variations Resource contains sequence and taxonomy data and a search interface ( 18). The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Ebola Genome Portal hosts the Ebola Genome Browser with viral sequences from previous and current EVD and MVD outbreaks, as well as related data, literature and analysis links ( 17). The Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) lists immunological responses to a wide variety of pathogens, including filoviruses ( 16). World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) include lists of EVD and MVD outbreaks, up-to-date statistics, maps and response data covering the 2013–15 EVD outbreak in Western Africa, as well as general factsheets and disease information ( 13–15). ![]() There are several useful web-based resources for accessing data and conducting analysis of filoviruses, especially ebolaviruses. Our database provides an ebolavirus and marburgvirus global map that tracks the origin of EVD and MVD outbreaks according to zoonosis, human migration, import of non-human primates and laboratory-accident infections ( Supplementary Figure S1). The response to support afflicted regions has been global ( 4 –12), and historically, citizens of many nations have been touched directly by these outbreaks. This outbreak has spanned 3 years, and infected >28 000 people ( 3). Nearly 50 documented EVD and MVD outbreaks of relatively limited sizes occurred over the next several decades, but in 2013 a child in Guinea became the index case of an Ebola disease epidemic in Western Africa that spread through multiple nations. ![]() The ebolaviruses were discovered in 1976 during an EVD outbreak due to EBOV infection in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The first filovirus discovered, MARV, originated from a zoonotic transmission from infected monkeys shipped from Uganda ( 1) it caused a lethal human MVD outbreak in 1967 in Marburg and Frankfurt, West Germany (now Germany), and a related, nearly simultaneous outbreak in Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Viruses belonging to five species in the Ebolavirus genus, Ebola virus (EBOV), Sudan virus (SUDV), Reston virus (RESTV), Taï Forest virus (TAFV) and Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) cause Ebola virus disease (EVD) viruses in two distinct lineages in the Marburgvirus genus, Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV) cause Marburg virus disease (MVD) ( 2). Since their discovery in 1967 ( 1), viruses in the family Filoviridae have caused multiple lethal human disease outbreaks. Here, we (i) describe the main features of updated database, (ii) provide integrated views and some basic analyses summarizing evolutionary patterns as they relate to geo-temporal data captured in the database and (iii) highlight the most conserved regions in the proteome that may be useful for a T cell vaccine strategy. We have integrated and performed baseline analysis of all family Filoviridae sequences deposited into GenBank, with associated immune response data, and metadata, and we have added new computational tools with web-interfaces to assist users with analysis. ![]() To facilitate such consideration, we have updated and enhanced the content of the filovirus portion of Los Alamos Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses Database. Given the very real threat of future filovirus outbreaks, and the inherent uncertainty of the next outbreak virus and geographic location, it is prudent to consider the extent and implications of known natural diversity in advancing vaccines and therapeutic approaches. As this epidemic is finally coming to a close, refocusing on long-term prevention strategies becomes paramount. Governmental agencies, clinical teams, and the world scientific community pulled together in a multifaceted response ranging from prevention and disease control, to evaluating vaccines and therapeutics in human trials. ![]() The Ebola outbreak of 2013–15 infected more than 28 000 people and claimed more lives than all previous filovirus outbreaks combined.
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