Ebola has been in the news a lot lately. Here is a brief history and some interesting facts about the disease.

• First found in humans in 1976 with two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Takes its name from the Ebola River in the Congo near where that outbreak occurred.
• Was originally called Ebola hemorrhagic fever but now is called Ebola virus disease (EVD).
• There are 5 species of the virus. The one found in the Phillipines and China can infect humans, but it doesn’t make us sick.
• Transmitted through person-to-person contact, although there are transmissions through contact with bodily fluids absent of actual contact with the infected person.
• Symptoms include fever, fatigue, vomiting, sore throat; you know, basically like the flu! In fact, several other ailments must be excluded before an Ebola diagnosis is pursued because the beginning symptoms are similar to so many other diseases.

For more detail about the information included here, or to get a map of the current outbreak, check out the World Health Organization’s website.