The first filovirus was discovered in 1967 when a number of laboratory workers in Germany and Yugoslavia handling vervet monkey tissues developed haemorrhagic fever. A total of 31 cases and 7 deaths were associated with these outbreaks. The virus was named after Marburg, Germany, the site of one of the outbreaks. In addition to the 31 reported cases, one additional primary case was retrospectively diagnosed serologically. After this initial outbreak, the virus disappeared. It did not reappear until 1975, when a traveler, most likely exposed in Zimbabwe, became ill in Johannesburg, South Africa. The virus was transmitted there to his travel companion and a nurse. Since then, a few sporadic cases and 2 major epidemics (Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999 and Angola in 2005) of Marburg hemorrhagic fever (Marburg HF) have been reported. For information on known Marburg HF cases and outbreaks, see the chronological list.
Ebola virus was first identified in 1976, when two outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) occurred in northern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and southern Sudan. The outbreaks involved two different types of Ebola virus, named after the countries in which they were discovered. Both viruses proved highly lethal, with 90% of Zairean cases and 50% of Sudanese cases resulting in death.
Ebola viruses have occurred sporadically in Africa since 1976, with small to medium-sized outbreaks confirmed between 1976 and 1979. Large Ebola HF epidemics occurred in Kikwit, DRC, in 1995; Gulu, Uganda, in 2000; Bundibugyo, Uganda, in 2008; and Issiro, DRC, in 2012. Smaller outbreaks have been detected in Gabon, DRC, and Uganda. For information on known Ebola HF cases and outbreaks, see the chronological list.