Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
Ebola is the term for the viral genus Ebolavirus (EBOV), or for the disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF). It is named after the Ebola River, where the first recognized outbreak occurred. There are a number of species within the ebolavirus genus, which in turn have a number of specific strains or serotypes. The Zaire virus is the type species, which is also the first discovered and the most lethal.
Electron micrographs show long filaments, characteristic of the Filoviridae viral family. The virus interferes with the endothelial cells lining the interior surface of blood vessels and platelet cells. As the blood vessel walls become damaged and the platelets are unable to coagulate, patients succumb to hypovolemic shock. Ebola is transmitted primarily through bodily fluids and to a limited extent through skin and mucous membrane contact.
Ebola first emerged in 1976 in Zaire. It remained largely obscure until 1989 with a widely publicized outbreak in Reston, Virginia.
Etymology
The virus is named after the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), which is near the site of the first recognized outbreak in 1976, in a mission hospital run by Flemish nuns.[1]