Understanding Ebola: Why It Is So Dangerous and Deadly

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), previously known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is one of the deadliest diseases identified in humans. With an extremely high fatality rate, the virus often triggers global panic whenever a new outbreak emerges on the African continent. Understanding the characteristics of Ebola is not merely a medical requirement but a strategic step in safeguarding global health security.

Ebola is a severe disease that frequently results in death in humans and other non-human primates. It is caused by infection with viruses of the genus Ebolavirus. Since it was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the virus has caused multiple waves of outbreaks that devastate local communities and challenge international health systems.

Unlike influenza or Covid-19, which spread widely through airborne droplets, Ebola spreads via very specific contacts. The virus enters human populations through close contact with blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as fruit bats, chimpanzees, gorillas and monkeys.

In humans, transmission occurs through:

• Direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people

• Contact with contaminated surfaces, objects or materials

• Handling of infected animals or contact with their bodily fluids

The incubation period for Ebola ranges from 2 to 21 days. An infected person is not contagious until symptoms appear. Symptoms typically begin abruptly and may include fever, fatigue, muscle pains, headache, sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding.

The main danger of Ebola lies in its extreme lethality. World Health Organisation data show that the average fatality rate of Ebola cases is around 50%. However, in past outbreaks the mortality rate has varied from 25% to as high as 90%. The virus’s rapid destruction of the immune system and multi-organ failure makes it one of the most feared pathogens on Earth.

Questions about whether Ebola could become a global pandemic like Covid-19 are debated. Epidemiologists generally believe the risk of a global pandemic from Ebola is lower than that from respiratory viruses, but there remains a serious international spillover risk.

Several factors limit the pandemic potential of Ebola:

Nevertheless, the high mobility of people through international air travel continues to open gaps for imported cases to countries outside Africa, demanding high vigilance at every entry point.

Historically, Ebola treatment was primarily supportive (rehydration and symptom management). However, medical advances have brought new hope.

• Comprehensive information on the status of Ebola vaccines (Ervebo and Zabdeno) and an analysis of the risk of Ebola entering Indonesia based on global health protocols.

The WHO declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a global health emergency after claiming nearly 100 lives as of May 2026.

An in-depth analysis of the fatality rate reaching up to 90% and scientific explanations of why the human immune system struggles to counter this infection.

The Director of the Graduate School at YARSI University, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, says the Ebola outbreak currently occurring in Africa requires strengthened international cooperation.

Global Health Security researcher Dicky Budiman says the potential spread of Ebola in Indonesia is very low.