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Ebola

[ee-boh-luh, ih-boh-]
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noun
  1. Also called Ebola fever, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease. a usually fatal disease, a type of hemorrhagic fever, caused by the Ebola virus and marked by high fever, severe gastrointestinal distress, and bleeding.
  2. Ebola virus.

Origin of Ebola

after Ebola River, Democratic Republic of the Congo, near which an outbreak of the disease occurred in 1976
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Word Origin and History for ebola fever

ebola

n.

virus, 1976, named for Ebola River valley in Congo, where it first was studied.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ebola fever in Culture

Ebola

[(i-boh-luh)]

A highly lethal virus that causes massive internal hemorrhaging. It is thought that the virus originated in central Africa and was passed to humans from primates.

Note

This virus has been responsible for a greatly increased interest in and vigilance over new, exotic infectious diseases that are at risk of spreading rapidly, given the nature of modern jet transportation and bioterrorism (see also bioterrorism).
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.