--- description: Scientists at a French research institute say the Ebola virus has mutated and are studying whether it may have become more contagious. title: The Ebola Virus Is Mutating image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbb06be6f98b7edc/69877c7ef887dc2403e89cf6/ap115200918040.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [ebola](/tag/ebola/) ## ebola Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Ebola Virus Is Mutating, Say Scientists by [Kevin McSpadden](/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 29, 2015 8:46 AM CUT  A health care worker, right, takes the temperatures of school children for signs of the Ebola virus before they enter their school in the city of Conakry, Guinea, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 A health care worker, right, takes the temperatures of school children for signs of the Ebola virus before they enter their school in the city of Conakry, Guinea, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015Youssouf Bah—AP by [Kevin McSpadden](/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 29, 2015 8:46 AM CUT Scientists at a French research institute say the Ebola virus has [mutated](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31019097 "undefined") and they are studying whether it may have become more contagious. Researchers at the Institut Pasteur are analyzing hundreds of blood samples from Guinean Ebola patients in an effort to determine if the new variation poses a higher risk of transmission, according to the BBC_._ “We’ve now seen several cases that don’t have any symptoms at all, asymptomatic cases,” said human geneticist Dr. Anavaj Sakuntabhai. “These people may be the people who can spread the virus better, but we still don’t know that yet. A virus can change itself to less deadly, but more contagious and that’s something we are afraid of.” Although virus mutations are common, researchers are concerned that Ebola could eventually morph into an airborne disease if given enough time. However, there is no evidence to suggest this has happened yet, and the virus is still spread only via direct contact with an infected person. Institut Pasteur, which first pinpointed the current Ebola outbreak last March, is hoping that two vaccines they are developing will reach human trials by the end of the year. Current figures indicate 8,795 of some 22,000 cases across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone — around 40% — have been fatal. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31019097 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3687240/ebola-disease-health-vaccine-guinea/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3687240/ebola-disease-health-vaccine-guinea/"},"headline":"The Ebola Virus Is Mutating, Say Scientists","datePublished":"2015-01-29T08:46:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:58:10.201Z","description":"The outbreak has so far claimed 8,795 lives across the affected West African region","url":"https://time.com/3687240/ebola-disease-health-vaccine-guinea/","keywords":["ebola","Public Health","Disease","Sierra Leone","health","Virus","Guinea","Liberia","vaccine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbb06be6f98b7edc/69877c7ef887dc2403e89cf6/ap115200918040.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin McSpadden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbb06be6f98b7edc/69877c7ef887dc2403e89cf6/ap115200918040.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Guinea West Africa Ebola","caption":"Guinea West Africa Ebola","creditText":"Youssouf Bah—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3687240/ebola-disease-health-vaccine-guinea/","name":"The Ebola Virus Is Mutating, Say Scientists"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Fighting Ebola","description":"World Bank President Jim Yong Kim talks about funding the fight against the Ebola outbreak","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/99ZvJfqw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-18T03:07:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/99ZvJfqw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3687240/ebola-disease-health-vaccine-guinea/","duration":"PT40S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3687240/ebola-disease-health-vaccine-guinea/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```