• Question: how was Ebola first started?

    Asked by beth.nicholls to Angela, Claire, Ian, Robert, Sarah on 12 Nov 2014. This question was also asked by hahahahahhzhzh, the wheeler dealer, chimp 123.
    • Photo: Angela Stokes

      Angela Stokes answered on 12 Nov 2014:

      Hi _bethnicholls_

      Ebola is a group of viruses most of which are fatal. Initially it was in animals but it is not, as far as I know, entirely clear how it spread from animals to humans but it does seem to be common in fruit bats. We call the species which carries the virus but doesn’t get sick the ‘viral reservoir’ and this seems to be three types of fruit bat. In some places in Africa, fruit bats are eaten as bush meat and so this may provide clues as to how it spread initially.

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