New bat-borne virus related to Ebola discovered by Singapore team

(Duke University Medical Center) Newly discovered Mengla virus is evolutionarily closely related to Ebola virus and Marburg virus and shares several important functional similarities with them. For example, the genome organisation of the Mengl à virus is consistent with other filoviruses, coding for seven genes. The Mengl à virus also uses the same molecular receptor, a protein called NPC1, as Ebola virus and Marburg virus to gain entry into cells and cause infection.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news