1976 Zaire Ebola virus outbreak

1976 Zaire Ebola virus outbreak
Zaire (orthographic projection)
DateAugust–November 1976
Casualties
  • Cases / Deaths: (as at end of outbreak)
  • Zaire: 318 / 280

In August–November 1976, an outbreak of Ebola virus disease occurred in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The first recorded case was from Yambuku, a small village in Mongala District,[1] 1,098 kilometres (682 mi) northeast of the capital city of Kinshasa.

The virus responsible for the initial outbreak, named after the nearby Ebola River, was first thought to be Marburg virus but was later identified as a new type of virus related to the genus Marburgvirus.[2]

A total of 318 cases and 280 deaths (an 88% fatality rate) resulted from this outbreak, which, along with an outbreak in Sudan that had begun a few weeks previously, were the first outbreaks of Ebola ever recorded.[3]

  1. ^ Hewlett, Barry; Hewlett, Bonnie (2007). Ebola, Culture and Politics: The Anthropology of an Emerging Disease. Cengage Learning. p. 103. ISBN 978-1111797317. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Ebola virus disease". Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  3. ^ King JW (2 April 2008). "Ebola Virus". eMedicine. WebMD. Retrieved 6 October 2008.

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