Welcome to Ebola Virus Net
Ebola Virus Net is the web resource for anyone interested in ebola. Ebola (Ebola hemorrhagic fever), is a severe, often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. Ebola is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with a virus of the family Filoviridae, genus Ebolavirus. There are five identified Ebolavirus species, four of which have caused disease in humans. Ebola is found in several African countries. The first Ebola species was discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, outbreaks have appeared sporadically in Africa. The largest outbreak to date was the epidemic in West Africa, which occurred from December 2013, to January 2016, with 28,646 cases and 11,323 deaths. Other outbreaks in Africa began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2017 and 2018. In July 2019, the World Health Organization declared the Congo Ebola outbreak a world health emergency.
When an infection does occur in humans, the virus can be spread to others through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola, or through contact with objects that have been contaminated with the blood or body fluids of an infected person. Until recent, no vaccines were effective. In December 2016, Ebola was found to be 70–100% prevented by rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, making it the first proven vaccine against the disease. More than 100,000 people have been vaccinated against Ebola as of 2019.
The objectives of Ebola Virus Net are to be the public and professional information resource for ebola and to serve as a network in the exchange of information and news related to ebola.