Ebola virus outbreak in 2014–2015

Article By:

Shors, Teri Department of Biology and Microbiology, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Last reviewed:2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB150666

In March 2014, blood samples collected from 20 patients who were hospitalized in Gueckedou (Guéckédou), Macenta, and Kissidougou, Guinea, were shipped to Biosafety Level-4 (BSL-4) laboratories in Lyon, France, and Hamburg, Germany, for virology testing. Nearly all of the patients (84%) died from a mysterious illness. They suffered from a fever, severe diarrhea, and vomiting. Using a commercial kit to detect the Ebola virus L gene, 15 of the 20 patients were confirmed as positive. On March 23, 2014, the Ministry of Health of Guinea notified the World Health Organization (WHO) that the forested area of southeastern Guinea was the epicenter of a rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak. Ministry personnel announced that, to the best of their knowledge, there were 49 cases and 29 deaths (59% of patients died). For the first time ever, West Africa (Fig. 1) was in the midst of an Ebola outbreak that would turn out to be the worst in human history.

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