Ebola

Ebola haemorrhagic fever is a rare but severe disease in humans and non-human primates caused by Ebola virus, a filovirus that was first recognised in 1976 and has caused sporadic outbreaks since in several African countries.

There are five distinct serotypes of Ebola virus, of which four have caused disease in humans: Ebola Zaïre, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Côte d’Ivoire, and an as yet un-named serotype. This was recently (November 2007) identified in an outbreak in Uganda, but has yet to be fully described. Serotype Ebola Reston has caused disease in non-human primates but not in humans.

No imported case of Ebola haemorrhagic fever has ever occurred in the UK.

Known outbreaks/cases in 2008:

December 2008, confirmed outbreak in DR Congo (Kasai Occidental province)

Bundibugyo District, western Uganda, Nov 07-Feb 08