Ecology of Ebolavirus: A Review of Current Knowledge, Speculations and Future Research Directions

TFiloviruses particularly Ebola and Marburg viruses causes deadly hemorrhagic fevers in humans and non-human primates particularly the great apes (chimpanzees and gorillas). Ebola virus disease (EVD), which is also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is caused by Ebola virus, which has a case fatality rate of up to 90% [1-3]. Ebola virus is among the most dangerous microorganisms today. It has been classified as Category A biothreat pathogen [4-6] and Biosafety Level 4 organism [4,6,7]. Ebola and Marburg virus have been linked to several sporadic outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever especially in East and Central Africa [7-9]. Ebolavirus has been described as pathogen causing emerging and re-emerging zoonotic disease outbreaks in humans [7,10,11]. There are indicators that the frequency, scale and severity of outbreaks are increasing. For nearly 40 years, the science community has been researching on Ebola virus. Recent findings suggest that outbreaks of Ebola virus might not just be sporadic as previously thought, but could be linked to changes in ecology that brought humans in close proximity to natural / primary host and immediate hosts of Ebola virus due to human exploitation of previously unoccupied forest ecosystems.