The Ebola virus, discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River that can cause a severe and often fatal disease called Ebola virus disease (EVD). Since the first discovery in 1976, there have been sporadic outbreaks of EVD, with the most recent one in 2013-2016 affecting West African countries, mainly Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Fruit bats are the most likely reservoir of the Ebola virus. Ebola is deadly in about 70% of those infected with Ebola; the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa claimed more than 11,000 lives. (more…)
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