Terrified residents had earlier blamed the deaths on a ‘strange disease’ and some of the victims sought treatment from traditional healers where they died from
What are Filoviruses?
The Filoviridae Family
First discovered in 1967, the filovirus refers to any virus that belongs to the Filoviridae family of viruses that sit within the Mononegavirales order. Three genera are included within the family: Cuevavirus, Ebolavirus, and Marburgvirus.
The latter two primarily infect vertebrates with a focus on primates, whereas the more recently recognized Cuevavirus has not been seen to favor primate infection, with early research focused on investigating the virus in bats.
To date, six distinct species of Ebolavirus have been discovered, including the Ebola virus, Sudan virus, Taï Forest virus, Bundibugyo virus, Reston virus, and Bombali virus. Research has shown that four of these virus species (Ebola, Sudan, Taï Forest, and Bundibugyo) cause disease in humans. Reston virus causes disease in primates other than humans and also pigs. Bombali virus, like Cuevavirus, has been found to cause disease in bats but it has yet to be shown to cause dis