Ebola epidemic

This list of Ebola outbreaks records the known occurrences of Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Pathogens of the disease are the five ebolaviruses recognised by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses: Ebola virus (EBOV), Sudan virus (SUDV), Reston virus (RESTV), Taï Forest virus (TAFV), and Bundibugyo virus (BDBV). RESTV has caused the illness only in primates.

Transmission between natural reservoirs and humans is rare, and outbreaks of Ebola virus disease are often traceable to a single case where an individual has handled the carcass of a gorilla, chimpanzee or duiker. The virus then spreads person-to-person, especially within families, hospitals and during some mortuary rituals where contact among individuals becomes more likely.

Learning from failed responses, such as during the 2000 Uganda outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) established its Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, and other public health measures were instituted in areas at high risk. Field laboratories were established to confirm cases, instead of shipping samples to South Africa. Outbreaks are closely followed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Special Pathogens Branch) as well.

Nigeria was the first country in western Africa to successfully curtail the virus, and its procedures have served as a model for other countries to follow.

On 11 May 2017, the Ministry of Public Health for the Democratic Republic of the Congo notified the WHO of an Ebola outbreak in the Likati health zone (LHZ) in Bas-Uele province, which is in the northern part of the country. The suspected infections have been reported from Nambwa, Mouma, and Ngay. The LHZ borders the Central African Republic, making this outbreak a moderate risk to the region.

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