Ebola hemorrhagic fever is characterized by severe headache, weakness and muscle aches, followed by abdominal pain, diarrhea, inflammation of the throat, eyes and mucous membranes, bleeding from body openings and destruction of internal organs. The incubation period is usually 5 - 10 days. The course of the disease is usually 7 to 10 days if it proves fatal. There is no known cure. In Zaire in 1995 blood from patients who were recovering was transfused into severely ill patients in an attempt to transfer antibodies to neutralize the virus.
Conventional treatment consists of preventing shock and providing supportive care.
Care must be taken to prevent the spread of the illness to health care workers. Convalescence takes five weeks or more. The first identified outbreaks of Ebola occurred in 1976, one in Zaire and one in Sudan. There were about 550 cases and 430 deaths. Another outbreak occurred in the city of Kitwit, Zaire, in 1995 affecting 315 people and killing 242.