Ebola virus disease ( EVD ) is a severe disease caused by Ebola virus, a member of the filovirus family, which occurs in humans and other primates. The disease emerged in 1976 in almost simultaneous outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ) and Sudan (now South Sudan).

When did Ebola start and end?

After an initial declaration in November 2015, Sierra Leone announced a new case of EVD in January 2016 and declared it was Ebola-free on March 17, 2016. In Guinea, the first end of outbreak declaration was in December 2015, but additional cases were discovered in March and April of 2016.

When was the first case of Ebola?

Since Ebola was discovered in 1976, several outbreaks have occurred, primarily in Africa. The WHO called the 2014 outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa the “largest, most severe and most complex Ebola epidemic” in history — it infected more than 28,000 and took the lives of 11,000 people.