Ebola
Introduction Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often-fatal disease in primates that has appeared sporadically around the world since its initial recognition in 1976. ... Ebola causes a death in 50% to 90% of all clinically ill cases. The disease is caused by an infection with the Ebola virus which belongs to the family Filoviridae. The host where the Ebola virus originated is unknown. ... There are four identified subtypes of Ebola virus, each named after the areas where they were first documented. Three of the four have caused disease in humans and are referred to as Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, and Ebola-Ivory Coast. The fourth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans. ... The countries where the Ebola virus is active are Zaire, Sudan, Gabon, Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Kenya. ... Symptoms The incubation period for Ebola ranges from 2 to 21 days. The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever, which is characterized by such symptoms as severe headache, weakness, and muscle aches, followed by vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, inflammation of the throat, inflammation of the mucous membranes in the eye, bleeding from body openings, and, often, destruction of internal tissues.