| a highly contagious virus of the family Filoviridae that causes hemorrhagic fever, gastrointestinal distress, and often death. |
E·bo·la virus  (ĭ-bō'lə, ěb'ō-lä) n. An extremely contagious filovirus causing an acute, usually fatal hemorrhagic fever and spread through contact with bodily fluids of infected persons and by airborne particles. [After the Ebola River in northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease was first observed.] |
Ebola virus Eb·o·la virus (ěb'ə-lə)
n.
An RNA virus that causes acute, highly fatal hemorrhagic fever that spreads through contact with bodily fluids or secretions of infected persons.
| Ebola virus (ĭ-bō'lə) Pronunciation Key
A virus of African origin, belonging to the genus Filovirus, that causes a highly contagious infection characterized by fever, respiratory symptoms, bleeding, and sometimes central nervous system involvement with coma. In many patients there is progressive organ failure leading to death. |