Ebola

Ebola virus disease is a human disease caused by Ebola virus (EBOV) and classified in the provided metadata as viral, with ICD-10 code A98.4 and ICD-11 code 1D60. It is described as a severe disease that is frequently lethal and, in WHO material, as a severe illness affecting humans and other primates ^[1][2]. The available sources identify it as Ebola virus disease / Ebola disease rather than providing further taxonomic detail ^[1][2].

The disease is characterized by fever and gastrointestinal signs, and can progress to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome ^[1]. WHO material describes symptoms as potentially sudden and includes fever, fatigue, malaise, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, rash, and other symptoms that are not fully enumerated in the provided excerpt ^[2]. The course is frequently severe, and the disease has a high case-fatality rate ^[1][2]. Source-backed detail on timing of complications beyond multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is not yet available from the snippets provided ^[1].

Ebola virus has caused numerous outbreaks of fatal hemorrhagic disease in Africa since its discovery in 1976 ^[3]. The largest outbreak on record was the 2013–2016 epidemic in West Africa, which involved almost 30,000 cases and over 11,000 fatalities and strongly affected Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone ^[3]. WHO notes that the first outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa near tropical rainforests, and that the 2014–2016 West African outbreak spread between countries, starting in Guinea and moving across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia ^[2]. The average case-fatality rate is around 50%, with reported rates varying from 25–90% in past outbreaks ^[2].

Outbreaks typically begin with a single case of probable zoonotic transmission, followed by human-to-human spread ^[1]. WHO states that the virus is transmitted to people from wild animals such as fruit bats, porcupines, and non-human primates, and then spreads through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected people, as well as with contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing ^[2]. The provided sources do not give a more granular transmission chronology beyond the statement that a person infected with Ebola cannot spread the disease until symptoms develop ^[2].

The sources identify exposure to wild animals such as fruit bats, porcupines, and non-human primates as the initial zoonotic interface, and humans with direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated materials as part of subsequent transmission risk ^[2][1]. WHO also notes that Ebola affects humans and other primates, but the provided excerpts do not specify additional demographic or occupational risk groups ^[2]. Source-backed detail on other high-risk populations is not yet available from the snippets provided ^[1][2].

The provided material indicates that prevention strategies have increasingly relied on licensed countermeasures, including an Ebola virus-targeted vaccine approved by European and US regulatory agencies ^[1]. During the West African epidemic, vaccines were administered primarily to known contacts of EVD patients under clinical trial protocols using a ring-vaccination strategy ^[3]. The sources also note that new strategies toward prevention of infection emerged from experience with the West African and Democratic Republic of the Congo outbreaks, but they do not provide a complete prevention package in the excerpted text ^[1].

For surveillance, Ebola virus disease should be interpreted as an outbreak-prone, high-severity infection in which even single cases may signal the start of a transmission chain ^[1]. The available sources emphasize zoonotic spillover followed by human-to-human spread and substantial epidemic potential, including cross-border spread during the West African outbreak ^[1][2]. Source-backed detail on routine endemic baseline incidence or standardized alert thresholds is not yet available from the provided material ^[4].

1. 1 Jacob ST et al. Ebola virus disease. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020 Feb 20. PMID: 32080199. doi: 10.1038/s41572-020-0147-3. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32080199/
2. 2 World Health Organization. Ebola disease [Internet]. cited 20 May 2026. Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/ebola
3. 3 Furuyama W et al. Ebola Virus: Pathogenesis and Countermeasure Development. Annu Rev Virol. 2019 Sep 29. PMID: 31567063. doi: 10.1146/annurev-virology-092818-015708. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31567063/
4. 4 Baker RE et al. Infectious disease in an era of global change. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2022 Apr. PMID: 34646006. doi: 10.1038/s41579-021-00639-z. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34646006/
5. 5 Forty years of the war against Ebola. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B. 2014. doi: 10.1631/jzus.b1400222. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.b1400222
6. 6 World Health Organization. Health topics [Internet]. cited 20 May 2026. Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/ebola-virus-disease

ICD-10

A98.4

ICD-11

1D60

Total cases

0

Peak month

2005-01

Coverage

4 reporting countries · 2026-01-01 → 2023-03-25