The species Sudan ebolavirus is a virological species included in the genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae, order Mononegavirales. The species has a single virus member, Sudan virus (SUDV). The members of the species are called Sudan ebolaviruses (Kuhn et al. 2010).
A virus of the genus Ebolavirus is a member of the species Sudan ebolavirus if: (Kuhn et al. 2010)
• it is endemic in Sudan and/or Uganda
• it has a genome with three gene overlaps (VP35/VP40, GP/VP30, VP24/L)
• it has a genomic sequence different from Ebola virus by ≥30% but different from that of Sudan virus by <30%
(From Wikipedia 29 August 2014)
Sudan virus is closely related to the much more commonly known Ebola virus (EBOV). SUDV causes severe disease (Ebola virus disease, EVD, also called Ebola hemorrhagic fever, EHF) in humans and (experimentally) in nonhuman primates. SUDV is a Select Agent, World Health Organization Risk Group 4 Pathogen (requiring Biosafety Level 4-equivalent containment), National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Category A Priority Pathogen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Category A Bioterrorism Agent, and listed as a Biological Agent for Export Control by the Australia Group.(From Wikipedia 10 March 2014)
Like the Ebola virus (EBOV), SUDV emerged in 1976; it was at first assumed to be identical with the Zaire species (Feldmann and Geisbert 2009).SUDV is believed to have broken out first amongst cotton factory workers in Nzara, Sudan (now in South Sudan), with the first case reported as a worker exposed to a potential natural reservoir. Scientists tested local animals and insects in response to this; however, none tested positive for the virus. The carrier is still unknown. The lack of barrier nursing (or "bedside isolation") facilitated the spread of the disease.The most recent outbreak occurred in August, 2014. Thirteen cases were reported in Djera, Democratic Republic of Congo. The average fatality rates for SUDV were 54% in 1976, 68% in 1979, and 53% in 2000 and 2001. (From Wikipedia 7 September 2014)
