2004/01/15 by Eric M. Leroy, Pierre Rouquet, Pierre Formenty +9 · 6 citations
Medicine · #Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research #Viral Infections and Vectors #Mosquito-borne diseases and control #Outbreak #Ebola virus #Gorilla #Wildlife #Ebolavirus #Transmission (telecommunications) #Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever #Virology #Biology #Geography #Veterinary medicine #Zoology #Ecology #Medicine
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1092528
openalex publication_date 2004/01/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Several human and animal Ebola outbreaks have occurred over the past 4 years in Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The human outbreaks consisted of multiple simultaneous epidemics caused by different viral strains, and each epidemic resulted from the handling of a distinct gorilla, chimpanzee, or duiker carcass. These animal populations declined markedly during human Ebola outbreaks, apparently as a result of Ebola infection. Recovered carcasses were infected by a variety of Ebola strains, suggesting that Ebola outbreaks in great apes result from multiple virus introductions from the natural host. Surveillance of animal mortality may help to predict and prevent human Ebola outbreaks.