Complete genome sequence of a new Ebola virus strain isolated during the 2017 Likati outbreak in the democratic Republic of the Congo

Tony Wawina-Bokalanga, Bert Vanmechelen, Joan Martí-Carreras, Valentijn Vergote, Kurt Vermeire, Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, Steve Ahuka-Mundeke, Piet Maes.

The research team of Piet Maes was deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2018 to perform real-time sequencing using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION sequencer, supporting local diagnostic teams during the Ebola outbreak. Prior to using the MinION sequencer in Equateur Province, the protocol was successfully validated by sequencing a confirmed Ebola-positive blood sample from May 2017 (Likati outbreak) at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Published May 2020 in Microbiology Resource Announcements

Joan ebolavirus sequencing

HONOURs

Host switching pathogens, infectious outbreaks and zoonosis; a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network.

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 721367.