Abstract
Ebola virus (EBOV) is an RNA virus of the Filoviridae family. It is the causative agent of Ebola virus disease (EVD), a highly fatal disease characterized by hemorrhagic fevers with mortality rates of up to 90%. The most remarkable epidemic took place in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, affecting more than 28,000 people mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There were a total of 11,325 confirmed deaths, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The filovirus family includes a wide range of pathogens including Zaire Ebola, Sudan Ebola, Reston Ebola, Taï Forest Ebola as well as Marburg, Lloivu, Bombali and Mengla viruses. Beyond having affected Africa, filoviruses are widespread in other continents of the world including Europe and Asia, where it is very important to study them. In this study, we analyzed the effect of temperature on filoviruses and we report that the Ebola virus as well as the other Ebola filoviruses are thermostable with the exception of the Taï Forest virus and that the Marburg virus is less thermostable than the virus Ebola. We also report that fever has no negative effect on Ebola virus but it slightly inhibits the internalization of Marburg virus. This study is important in order to learn more about filoviruses to help understand the virus as well as to develop therapeutic solutions for potential epidemics that could break out.
