Scientists have been puzzling for years over why some people survive Ebola while many others perish.

A new study provides strong evidence that individual genetic differences play a major role in whether people die from the disease.

Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle reported their findings on Thursday in the journal Science.

They compared conventional lab mice, which typically just die when infected with a mouse version of Ebola, with genetically diverse lab mice that developed a wide range of symptoms in much the same way that people infected with the virus do.

Mice used in the study were generated from eight different strains of the animal and were bred to represent human genetic diversity.

Symptoms in these genetically diverse mice ranged from mild weight loss to full, hemorrhagic fever, including internal bleeding, swollen spleens and changes in liver color and texture.

'We infected these mice with a mouse-adopted strain of Ebola virus,' said Angela Rasmussen, a microbiologist at the University of Washington who helped lead the study.

'In classical lab mice, this strain of Ebola kills the animals but it doesn't produce hemorrhagic disease,' she said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2814741/Individual-genetic-differences-affect-Ebola-survival-study.html#ixzz3HmtCc0oN
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