Where is the origin of Ebola?

The Ebola virus was first detected in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus is named after the river Ebola, near which the first known outbreak occurred in 1976. At that time, the disease was transmitted through contaminated needles and syringes in hospitals.

The natural host of the Ebola virus is not exactly known, but it is assumed that the virus is mainly transmitted to humans by bats and flying foxes. The first sick patient of the major epidemic, which began in 2014, was a small boy from a village in Guinea who had probably come into contact with bats on a hollow tree. The examination of DNA found on the tree revealed that a species of bat known to be a carrier of the Ebola virus had lived there.

Ebola fever is caused by infection with the Ebola virus. The transmission occurs from infected humans or animals to other humans or animals. Contaminated objects and food, for example bushmeat, can also cause disease on contact.

In areas where the virus is endemic, there is naturally a greater risk of infection. The Ebola virus is transmitted from person to person, from animal to human or from contaminated objects or food to humans. The natural reservoir of the pathogen has not yet been identified beyond doubt, but is suspected in certain genera of flying foxes.

It is suspected that fruit and leaves are the transmission route from fruit bats to other animals and humans. These are wetted by the excrements and saliva of infected fruit bats and are then consumed by other animals or humans. Human-to-human transmission usually occurs through direct contact with body fluids of infected individuals, for example through contact with vomit, blood, stool or saliva.

Tear fluid, semen, breast milk and sweat also contain relevant amounts of viral RNA and can be considered as infectious body fluids. The pathogen is usually absorbed via the mouth or the gastrointestinal tract. Infection is also possible via the blindfold.

Droplet infection, i.e. infection through sneezing or coughing of a person affected, is not supposed to be a significant transmission route of the disease.If, however, large amounts of the pathogen are expelled by sneezing or coughing, which then directly hit a person who has not yet fallen ill, it can very well lead to an infection. Hygienic precautions are the most important measure to limit Ebola fever and to protect people who have not yet fallen ill from infection. Before the first symptoms of the disease appear, persons infected with the Ebola virus are not contagious.