What is Ebola?
Ebola was discovered by 2 Belgians; Guido van der Groen and Peter Piot. The virus was recognized and demonstrated in the town of Yambuku (Congo, then Zaire), located 95 kilometers from the Ebola River. The Ebola Virus causes a high mortality rate (mortality is estimated to be around 50%) for which no drug or vaccine has been found to date. Bats spread Filoviruses through feces. These (Filoviridae) form a family of viruses belonging to the order Mononegavirales. Viruses from this family are the only antisense RNA viruses of significance that affect primates. The Ebola virus is one of two genera of Filoviruses. People who come into contact with infected primates, living or dead, can thus become infected. The virus is transmissible through all bodily fluids, even after the originally infected person is cured. Since the virus can remain in the cells for a long time.