What is Ebola?
Ebola is a virus in the Filovirus family. The only other known member of this family is Marburg virus which appeared in a minor outbreak in Germany in the 1960’s. There are four known strains of Ebola thus far. These strains are known as Ebola-Ivory Coast, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Zaire, and Ebola-Reston, based on the locations where they were first identified.

Filovirus Characteristics
Members of the Filovirus family are long and stringy and typically resemble spaghetti noodles or shepherd’s crooks. Their genetic material is stored in the form of RNA.

Filoviruses are transmitted through direct contact with infected humans, infected animals, or the vector. However, the vector for these viruses has yet to be discovered, but is assumed to be an animal.