Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a severe and often deadly illness that can occur in humans and in primates (monkeys, gorillas).
Ebola hemorrhagic fever has made worldwide news because of its destructive potential.
Alternative Names
Ebola virus infection; Viral hemorrhagic fever
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola fever) is caused by a virus belonging to the family called Filoviridae. Scientists have identified four types of the Ebola virus. Three have been reported to cause disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire virus, Ebola-Sudan virus, and Ebola-Ivory Coast virus. The human disease has so far been limited to parts of Africa.
A very small number of people in the United States who were infected with the fourth type of the virus, known as Ebola Reston, did not develop any signs of disease.
The disease can be passed to humans from infected animals and animal materials. Ebola can also be spread between humans by close contact with infected bodily fluids or through infected needles in the hospital.
Review Date: 08/28/2009
Reviewed By: Linda Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of
Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of
Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine,
Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of
Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General
Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director,
A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
