Taxonomy
Nakiwogo virus chromatogram. Museum scientists discovered Nakiwogo virus.
Taxonomy
Viruses; ssRNA viruses; ssRNA positive-strand viruses, no DNA stage; Flaviviridae; Flavivirus; Unclassified Flavivirus.
Morphology
Viral particles of Nakiwogo virus have an outer envelope that has spiny projections, and they are approximately 40nm in diameter.
The virus appears as round or spherical “virion” particles in the mosquito cell culture.
Diagnostic description
At present the best way to distinguish flaviviruses within this group from one another is via molecular biology. The sequence of parts of the virus genome is essential for this.
The gene sequence (generally of a part of the virus called the “NS5” gene) is compared with other known viruses to make a “family tree” to see how the viruses are related.
In future, if a virus is discovered that is 96% similar to Nakiwogo virus, and it looks similar under a microscope, it is likely to be classified as another strain of Nakiwogo virus.