What is Ebola virus?
Ebola virus is a member of the filovirus family. When magnified several thousand times by an electron microscope, these viruses appear as long filaments or threads. Discovered in 1976, Ebola virus was named for a river in Zaire, Africa, where it was first detected. How common is Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever? Until recently, only three outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever among people had been reported. The first two outbreaks were in 1976: one in Zaire and one in western Sudan. These were large outbreaks, resulting in more than 550 cases and 340 deaths. The third outbreak, in 1979 in Sudan, was smaller, with 34 cases and 22 fatalities. During each of these outbreaks, a majority of cases occurred in hospital settings under the challenging conditions of the developing world. These conditions, including a lack of adequate medical supplies and the frequent reusing of needles and syringes, played a major role in the spread of the disease. The outbreaks were quickly controlled when appropri
