Ebola, which has killed more than 80 people in a new outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and one person in Uganda, has wreaked havoc in Africa for 50 years now.
During that time, it has claimed more than 15,000 lives, and despite the development of treatments and vaccines for some strains, it remains a deadly threat.
Here are the basic facts about the deadly virus.
Where it comes from
The Ebola virus – or Orthoebolavirus zairense, to give it its full scientific name – was first identified in 1976 in DR Congo, then known as Zaire.
It comes from the filoviridae family of viruses, which is characterized by high fever. It owes its name to the river in the north of the country near where the first epidemic broke out.
So far, six different strains of Ebola have been identified: Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, Reston, Tai Forest and Bombali.
The Zaire species has caused the vast majority of cases since 2014.
How it spreads
The virus is spread by fruit bats, which are considered Ebola’s natural hosts and do not develop the disease themselves.
Other animals, such as great apes, antelopes and porcupines, can also carry the disease and pass it on to humans.
During epidemics, Ebola is transmitted by direct, close contact with infected people. A healthy person can be infected by body fluids – blood, vomit or faeces – from a sick person.
People can also become infected during funeral rituals if they come into direct contact with the body of a victim of the virus.
But because Ebola cannot be caught by airborne transmission, it is less contagious than other viral diseases.
But there is a very high mortality rate among those who contract the disease: between 40 and 70% in recent epidemics in DR Congo, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
A study published in the scientific journal Nature said the virus could remain dormant in survivors only to resurface years later, sparking a new outbreak.
The symptoms
After an incubation period of between two and 21 days, the first symptoms may appear suddenly: fever, fatigue, malaise, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.
These symptoms are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, rash and symptoms of reduced kidney and liver function.
It can sometimes be accompanied by internal and external bleeding.
Survivors often suffer from arthritis, vision problems, eye infections and hearing problems.
Vaccines, treatments
Only the Zaire species of the disease have vaccines: Ervebo from Merck and Sabdeno from Johnson & Johnson.
Three possible vaccines have been tested for the Sudanese strain of the virus since the end of 2022 after the green light from the WHO.
Two monoclonal antibodies that significantly reduce mortality are also available against the Zaire strain.
However, in any case, rehydration and transfusion are used to treat patients who show symptoms.
The worst epidemic (2013-16)
The deadliest Ebola outbreak started in southern Guinea in December 2013 and spread across West Africa.
It killed more than 11,300 people out of 29,000 recorded cases, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The WHO finally declared the epidemic over in March 2016.
Outbreak in DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo, a large country spread across central Africa with more than 100 million people, has suffered more than 15 Ebola epidemics since 1976, which have collectively killed more than 3,000 people, according to WHO data.
The deadliest outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people out of 3,500 infected. The most recent outbreak there, declared in August 2025, killed at least 34 people.
While the DR Congo has the most experience of facing outbreaks of the disease, the challenge is often to contain it.
Containing the current outbreak in Ituri province in the east of the country is complicated by the constant movement of people there.
There is a lot of gold mining activity in the province, which also faces regular attacks from the armed groups active in the region.
