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.
Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Gabon.
Xavier
X
Pourrut
Brice
B
Kumulungui
Tatiana
T
Wittmann
Ghislain
G
Moussavou
André
A
Délicat
Philippe
P
Yaba
Dieudonné
D
Nkoghe
Jean-Paul
JP
Gonzalez
Eric Maurice
EM
Leroy
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