The virus takes its name from the Ebola River, near the site of one of the first recorded outbreaks in what is now the DRC, in 1976. Four of these six species are known to cause disease in humans and the major African outbreaks have been linked mainly to Zaire, Sudan and Bundibugyo ebolaviruses

The outbreak has alarmed experts because it was able to spread for weeks undetected across a densely populated area ravaged by widespread armed violence.

Ebola has claimed over 15,000 lives in its 50-year history, with the latest outbreak resulting in more than 80 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo and one in Uganda. This…