The Ebola Virus

Ebola virus disease (EVD or ebola) is an infectious disease caused by the Ebolavirus, a virus belonging to the Filoviridae family. Like Marburg fever, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, hantavirus and dengue, ebola can cause viral haemorrhagic fever. These diseases cause damage to blood vessels and impair blood clotting, which can lead to bleeding, organ failure and a risk of death. Ebola belongs to the family of high-impact infectious diseases (HCIDs), so named because of their high mortality rate, lack of treatments, difficulty in detecting them and their potential to spread within the community.

Four species of the Ebola virus can infect humans

Of the six species of Ebola virus, four can infect humans: Zaire (now simply called ‘Ebola’ by the WHO; it is the one that has caused the most outbreaks and is also the deadliest), Sudan, Bundibugyo and Tai Forest. The mortality rate associated with the different species of the virus varies considerably: without treatment, the Zaire species has a case fatality rate of approximately 79%, Sudan around 54% and Bundibugyo around 32%. Transmission occurs through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or corpses, particularly blood, vomit, faeces or other biological fluids.

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