In vivo characterization of the novel ebolavirus Bombali virus suggests a low pathogenic potential for humans

Bombali virus (BOMV) is a novel ebolavirus whose genome sequence was found in free-tailed bats. Although the infectious virus has not been isolated, the authors rescued the recombinant BOMV by a reverse genetics engineering using artificially generated nucleotides. The BOMV showed slower growth property in cultured cells compared with pathogenic Zaire ebolavirus. BOMV showed lower pathogenesis when it was inoculated to HLA-A2-transgenic, NOD-scid-IL-2gamma receptor-knockout mice reconstituted with human haematopoiesis than the Zaire ebolavirus. These results indicate that the BOMV may show low pathogenesis to humans.