A new study out of a Surrey-based university has found a link between colonial activity and the emergence of the Ebola virus.
Christian Lange, PhD, a professor in the faculty of science at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), spent the past 15 years studying viruses, and his new study shines a light on the emergence of the virus.
鈥淲e have actual historic data that identifies the likely events that drove the emergence of Ebola,鈥� Lange said in a KPU news release Tuesday (Feb. 4). 鈥淧reviously, it was unclear why this virus came out of the forest, but we were able to track a colonial scheme that exactly coincides with the time and the place where we think the virus originated."
The World Health Organization describes the virus as a rare but severe illness that often causes a fatal hemorrhagic fever. The virus is named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is near one of the first known outbreaks of the virus in 1976 in Yambuku. A second outbreak occurred at the same time in what is now Nzara, South Sudan.
There are four types of ebola virus cause illness: Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan virus, ta茂 forest virus and bundibugyo virus.
Lange's study revealed that the most common ancestor of Zaire ebolavirus was circulating in the forests of what is now the northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1960, while the most recent common ancestor of Sudan ebolavirus was circulating in the southern Sudanese savanna in 1958.
The study notes that both areas underwent "significant anthropogenic fragmentation" between 1940 and 1960, associated with "specific colonial schemes to support cash crop agriculture." The Belgian Congo government drove the fragmentation in the DRC and the South Sudanese government under British rule.
鈥淚n the DRC, it wasn鈥檛 necessarily a transformation from forest to farmland that disrupted things 鈥� it鈥檚 more subtle. Even if you build one narrow road, you can displace species in the area that may avoid this new barrier. If we look at the data, it's these subtle changes that actually have the bigger effects.鈥�
The study found that this impact on the land could be connected to the "divergence and dispersal of new variants" of Ebola across the continent.
鈥淧eople should consider the impact of land use. Any interference with pristine habitats 鈥� no matter how small 鈥� has an effect, and in some cases will cause zoonotic events with unpredictable outcomes,鈥� he said.
An Ebola epidemic in 2014 to 2016 resulted in 28,000 suspected cases and over 11,000 cases.
鈥淥verall, the pattern is that we are seeing more Ebola than before,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he first Ebola cases were in 1976, but there were relatively few until about 2000. Now, there are outbreaks almost every year, mostly in the DRC.鈥�
Many human pathogenic viruses are transmitted from animals to humans, known as zoonotic, and many viruses emerge from bats.
鈥淏ats are extremely diverse. They are the second-largest group of mammals. In Canada, there are less than 20 bat species. In Africa, there are hundreds. There are probably multiple species of bats that have their own Ebola viruses. At one point, people got in contact with these bats,鈥� says Lange.
Bats have had to migrate and interact with other bat species due to humans disturbing habitats where bats reside.
鈥淲henever a virus is exposed to new conditions or transmitted to a new species, it evolves and adapts," he said.
If current rates of deforestation and fragmentation continue, Lange warns that we can expect the "zoonotic event trend" to continue.
Lange said more needs to be done to increase education resources and scientific research in developing nations.
鈥淭he Congo has some excellent scientists, but they don't have a lot of resources to do research. To develop a vaccine or to prevent spillovers, we need to know what we're fighting. Otherwise, it will take a lot longer to develop a solution,鈥� he said.
