During the first outbreak in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC), nurses in the Yambuku mission hospital reportedly used five syringes for 300 to 600 patients a day. The use of contaminated needles and syringes during the earliest outbreaks enabled transmission and amplification of Ebola virus. 1 The most recent Ebola virus to be detected, Bombali virus, was identified in samples from bats collected in Sierra Leone. Scientists continue to search for conclusive evidence of the bat’s role in transmission of Ebola. Thus, the virus is likely maintained in the environment by spreading from host to host or through intermediate hosts or vectors.Īfrican fruit bats are likely involved in the spread of Ebola virus and may even be the source animal (reservoir host). Like other viruses of its kind, it is possible that the reservoir host animal of Ebola virus does not experience acute illness despite the virus being present in its organs, tissues, and blood. However, they – like people – are “dead-end” hosts, meaning the organism dies following the infection and does not survive and spread the virus to other animals. Gorillas, chimpanzees, and other mammals may be implicated when the first cases of an EVD outbreak in people occur. Following the discovery of the virus, scientists studied thousands of animals, insects, and plants in search of its source (called reservoir among virologists, people who study viruses).
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