--- title: Ebola Virus has Mutated, Scientists Say description: Scientists at a French research institute say the Ebola virus has mutated and are studying whether it may have become more contagious. canonical: https://time.com/3687240/ebola-disease-health-vaccine-guinea/ author: Kevin McSpadden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-29T08:46:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:01.179Z article:section: Health og:title: The Ebola Virus Is Mutating og:description: Researchers investigating whether this makes the disease more contagious. og:url: https://time.com/3687240/ebola-disease-health-vaccine-guinea/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbb06be6f98b7edc/69877c7ef887dc2403e89cf6/ap115200918040.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Guinea West Africa Ebola og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Ebola Virus Is Mutating twitter:description: Researchers investigating whether this makes the disease more contagious. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbb06be6f98b7edc/69877c7ef887dc2403e89cf6/ap115200918040.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Ebola Virus Is Mutating, Say Scientists > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b15612d4-de1f-4e2a-a8b1-9a5db7be0fb8&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Fighting Ebola [Watch (HLS stream): World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Fighting Ebola](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/99ZvJfqw.m3u8) (0:40)  _Published 2014-12-18. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim talks about funding the fight against the Ebola outbreak_ by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Jan 29, 2015 8:46 AM UTC  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, 2015 Youssouf Bah—AP by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Jan 29, 2015 8:46 AM UTC Scientists at a French research institute say the Ebola virus has [mutated](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31019097) 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. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31019097)\] ## Transcript [00:00] We have to have a plan to get to zero. There, there's [00:03] no approximate victory in Ebola. It's, it's either you, [00:07] you win, by getting it to zero, or you continue to lose. [00:10] And so, you know, we, we visited Senegal. And I have [00:14] spoken directly with the president, Goodluck Jonathan, [00:16] in Nigeria. What it took those two countries to get to [00:19] zero was an immense effort. In Senegal it cost $ 1. 3 [00:23] million. For a single case. For 19 cases in Nigeria, it [00:27] took $ 13 million dollars, and they did 19, 000 home [00:31] visits just for those cases. We have to do that now in [00:34] each of these three countries, and we're not yet there. 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