The Cause of Ebola

The cause of Ebola is an infection with the Ebola virus. Three of four identified subtypes of the Ebola virus are known to cause Ebola in humans. Although researchers do not know exactly how an outbreak of Ebola starts, it has been hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected with Ebola virus through contact with an infected animal. While the specific cause of the first case in an Ebola outbreak is unknown, researchers do know that Ebola is transmitted from human to human through direct contact with people with the virus (or their body fluids, such as blood).

Ebola Info

The Cause of Ebola: An Introduction

There is only one cause of Ebola. An infection with the Ebola virus is the cause of Ebola.

The Cause of Ebola: The Ebola Virus

The Ebola virus was first recognized in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), in Africa, and got its name from a river there. Ebola virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae. There are four identified subtypes of Ebola virus. Three of the four have caused disease in humans:

Ebola-Ivory Coast
Ebola-Zaire
Ebola-Sudan.

The fourth Ebola virus subtype, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.

Researchers believe that the Ebola virus lives in an animal host that is native to the African continent, on the basis of available evidence, and the nature of similar viruses; however, the exact locations, origins, and natural habitat of Ebola virus remain unknown. They continue to search for the exact animal.

Scientists are not only unsure of the animal host for the Ebola virus, they are also unsure how an outbreak of Ebola virus occurs. Researchers have hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected with Ebola virus through contact with an infected animal.

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