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Ebola, an illness that leads to deadly hemorrhaging, has made headlines with startling regularity over the past several decades. Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses known as orthoebolaviruses. The most severe outbreak of Ebola disease was in 2014, when nearly 30,000 people contracted the virus and more than 11,000 died from the disease across the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
But there were outbreaks before 2014—and there have been outbreaks since. Read on for a timeline of significant Ebola outbreaks since the disease was first discovered more than 50 years ago.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Preventi... + 2
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ebola: History of Ebola Outbreaks. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ebola: Clinical Features of Ebola Disease. May 27, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health Alert Network (HAN): Ebola Disease Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. May 19, 2026.
