LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Ebola: Ebola Zaire
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Ebola Zaire was the first recorded occurrence of the Ebola virus in man. Ebola Zaire is so far the most lethal of the Ebola strains with a fatality rate between 80 – 90 %. It was isolated after the Zaire outbreak in 1976.
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In November, 2001, an Ebola outbreak again occurred in Gabon. and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and multiple outbreaks occurred in 2000-2004 in Gabon, the Congo, Sudan, and Uganda. Outbreaks continue in the Congo in 2005. At the same time, it was noted that Ebola outbreaks occurred in large mammals, mainly chimpanzees, duikers (a type of antelope), and gorillas, and that human outbreaks tended to follow those observed in animals. Airborne transmission of the Ebola Zaire strain to monkeys by aerosol has been demonstrated but is not known to occur from human-to-human. To date, no animal reservoir for Ebola virus has been identified.
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As a biological weapons agent, the Ebola virus is feared for its high case-fatality rate. Because of its rarity, the disease may not be diagnosed corrected at the onset of an outbreak. Reports suggested that the Ebola virus was researched and weaponized by the former Soviet Union's biological weapons program Biopreparat. Dr. Ken Alibek, former the First Deputy Director of Biopreparat, speculated that the Russians had aerosolized the Ebola virus for dissemination as a biological weapon. The Japanese terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo reportedly sent members to Zaire during an outbreak to harvest the virus.
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Ebola was first identified in Zaire in 1976 and has resurfaced three times among humans in central Africa. In all four outbreaks, the main victims were doctors, medical staff, and patients exposed to the virus through unsanitary hospital conditions. Many hospitals in the impoverished region of central Africa lack fresh water, rubber gloves, gowns, and other sanitized supplies that can prevent the transmission of disease. Also, it is not uncommon for hospital workers in the region to use the same needle when drawing blood from different patients, further facilitating the spread of Ebola and other blood-borne diseases. Hospitals in central Africa are overcrowded, and often several patients share a single bed, which can consist of a soiled mattress lying on the floor. During the outbreak in Kikwit, where it is common practice to wash the body of a dead relative before burial, many family members of victims unknowingly contracted the virus.
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The first outbreak of Ebola in which the virus was identified occurred in western Sudan and part of Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1976. More than 600 people were infected, of which more than 400 died. In 1995, a second large outbreak occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, infecting 315 people and killing 250. Since first being identified, more than 1800 cases of Ebola have been determined, of which 1200 resulted in deaths, making it one of the most fatal viruses to affect humans.
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Ebola was first identified in 1976, when two outbreaks of Ebola HF occurred in Zaire and Sudan. These outbreaks were two different species of virus, named after the nations in which they were discovered. Both were highly lethal- 50% of Sudanese cases and 90% of the Zairian cases resulted in deaths.
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Ebola Zaire