Ebola virus is a recently appearing RNA virus belonging to the family Filoviridae. There are four subtypes of this virus, all of which cause hemorrhagic fever.
Hemorrhagic fever is an often fatal disease, with a wide spectrum of symptoms occurring in humans.
Generally, within a few days of infection a flu-like illness develops with a high fever, headache, muscle aches, stomach pain, fatigue, and diarrhea. Some individuals may also develop a sore throat, red and itchy eyes, the hiccups, and a rash. Accompanying these symptoms is blood in the vomit and diarrhea. Within one week the symptoms worsen and include chest pain, internal bleeding, and blindness, which may lead to shock and death. Death is fairly common in this disease, and usually is a result of the individual being unable to develop a high enough immune response to the Ebola virus.