Ebola virus has mutated during course of outbreak

[paleotn]

7. Well, yea.....

...that's what viruses do, whether in their host species(s) or in other susceptible species. That's what makes them such slippery little devils. That's why there are several strains of Ebola known to infect humans and some slight variations within each strain. The longer an outbreak lasts plus high levels of immune response (selective pressure), the higher the chances of novel variations and new strains. While coming at a terrible cost, one good thing to come of this is we're collecting a great deal of data on how Ebola does what it does, how it mutates and how it spreads within human populations. Data that will be invaluable in combating the next outbreak.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6200/989.full