The Ebola virus has killed thousands of people in nine countries in just one year. However, conservationists have warned that humans are not the only one affected by the deadly outbreak.
Since the 1990s, gorillas and chimpanzees are dying from the wrath of the Ebola virus. The unparalleled Ebola outbreak in West Africa that started last December 2013, has killed around 8,641 and has infected 21,724 in nine countries especially in the three worst-ravaged countries namely Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
This predicament poses a threat to our nearest cousins, gorillas and chimpanzees, and they receive little media attention. Yet, the Ebola virus is more deadly for them than in humans. In fact, the mortality rate in gorillas is 95% and 77% in chimpanzees as reported by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Gorillas, specifically the western lowland gorillas, which are now considered as endangered species may face extinction if the Ebola virus is not curtailed. Conservationists suggest that vaccination should also be given to these animals to curb the bad effects of Ebola to their existence.
The present outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease is not the first time these animals were greatly affected by the potentially deadly virus. In 1995, an outbreak of Ebola in Congo emerged and killed about 90% of gorillas in Minkébé Park in northern Gabon as reported by The Conversation.
Another outbreak has emerged by 2002 in Democratic Republic of Congo that killed approximately 5,000 western gorillas. According to Ria Ghai for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, an estimated one third of the world's gorillas and chimpanzees died from Ebola.
Despite the severity and wrath of the Ebola virus, its origin is still unknown. However, bats are said to be hosts for the virus. They do not get sick due to the virus, but when it infects other animals like gorillas and humans, it is surely deadly. The mystery behind this virus is that its outbreaks come and go. It hides in between outbreaks that are still a big mystery for most experts.
