The natural history of Ebola virus in Africa.
Several countries spanning the equatorial forest regions of Africa have had outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever over the last three decades. This article is an overview of the many published investigations of how Ebola virus circulates in its natural environment, focusing on the viral reservoir, susceptible animal species, environmental conditions favoring inter-species transmission, and how the infection is transmitted to humans. Major breakthroughs have been made in recent years but many outstanding questions must be dealt with if we are to prevent human outbreaks by interfering with the viral life cycle.
Pourrut
Xavier
X
Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Gabon.
Kumulungui
Brice
B
Wittmann
Tatiana
T
Moussavou
Ghislain
G
Délicat
André
A
Yaba
Philippe
P
Nkoghe
Dieudonné
D
Gonzalez
Jean-Paul
JP
Leroy
Eric Maurice
EM
D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008379:Marburg Virus Disease / Q000453:epidemiology