A look at major Ebola outbreaks and when the disease was first identified

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — African health officials say there is a new Ebola outbreak in the central African country of Congo, with at least 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths.

The serious, often fatal disease was first identified in 1976 after two successive outbreaks in what is now South Sudan and Congo, according to the World Health Organization.

All major Ebola outbreaks have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where the viruses that cause it originated. The worst were recorded in West and Central Africa.

Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses. Three of them are known to cause significant epidemics: the Ebola virus, the Sudan virus and the Bundibugyo virus, according to the WHO.

A family of fruit bats is believed to be the natural host for the viruses that cause Ebola, and other animals like monkeys and monkeys can also be infected, according to the WHO.

People can become infected from these animals, and viruses can spread from person to person through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, feces, or vomit from an infected person, or with surfaces contaminated with bodily fluids.

Symptoms appear two days to three weeks after exposure, although they usually appear within about a week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Illnesses begin with flu-like symptoms, including fever, body aches, fatigue, and sore throat. Later, patients may experience gastrointestinal problems, rashes, seizures and bleeding.

The average mortality rate from Ebola is around 50%, according to the WHO, with rates ranging from 25% to 90% in previous outbreaks.

There are vaccines and treatments approved only for the Ebola virus.

The epidemic that occurred ten years ago in several West African countries is the worst on record.

There have been more than 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths as the highly contagious disease has spread widely in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and spread to neighboring countries. A small number of cases have also been reported in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, linked to travelers from Africa or health workers returning from Africa after helping to fight the outbreak.

The outbreak is believed to have started in southeastern Guinea when a child – “patient zero” – came into contact with infected fruit bats, according to researchers.

The second largest outbreak in history occurred soon after in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, with a few cases in neighboring Uganda. The latest outbreak announced on Friday is also in Ituri, on the border with Uganda.

The outbreak eight years ago had more than 3,400 reported cases and more than 2,200 deaths, with a mortality rate of 66%, according to the CDC.

Like that of 2013-2016, that of Congo was caused by the Ebola virus.

Congo has experienced more than a dozen significant outbreaks, including one as recent as late 2025.

There have been 425 reported cases and 224 deaths in an outbreak in Uganda caused this time by the Sudanese virus.

Authorities in the East African country have been praised for their rapid response to the outbreak and limiting its spread. Community work included educating people about the disease and dispelling misinformation about how it spreads.

Uganda has also experienced several outbreaks.

The first known outbreak of Ebola occurred 50 years ago in towns in what was then Sudan and is now part of South Sudan. Scientists believe it came from a cotton factory where workers came into contact with bats that were in warehouses, although the source has not been confirmed. It was caused by what later became known as the Sudan virus.

At least 151 people died and 284 cases were reported — most after sick people were taken to hospitals and transmitted the disease to health workers and others when the disease was still unknown, according to later studies.

A few months later, an outbreak in northern Congo – then called Zaire – left 280 dead and an extremely high mortality rate and led scientists to identify the Ebola virus. This outbreak began in a remote village near the Ebola River, which gave its name to the disease.

The first known Ebola infection outside Africa occurred the same year when a British laboratory technician accidentally pricked himself with a needle while studying samples. He recovered.

Very few cases have been recorded outside of Africa since Ebola was identified.

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AP Africa News: https://apnews.com/hub/africa