Ebola disease (Ebola) is a rare and deadly illness that has, at times, caused outbreaks in several African countries.
Ebola is spread by contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is infected with or has died from Ebola. It is also spread by contact with contaminated objects (such as clothing, bedding, needles, and medical equipment), or by contact with animals, such as bats and nonhuman primates, that are infected with Ebola virus.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising (a late stage of illness).
Two Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments are currently available to treat Ebola virus disease due to infection with Ebola virus (species Orthoebolavirus zairense): Inmazeb™ and Ebanga™.
Ebola viruses can cause serious and often deadly disease, with a mortality rate as high as 80 to 90 percent without treatment.