"Scientists believe that the Bundibugyo virus persists in an animal species, occasionally spilling over into humans. But they have yet to identify the species."
"Since April, an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has ballooned to 1,114 confirmed cases and 279 deaths, already the third-largest such epidemic since the disease was identified 50 years ago.
Despite its worrying size, this outbreak is threaded with mystery — particularly regarding its origins.
The cause is a little-known pathogen called Bundibugyo virus, one of three viral species known to cause Ebola disease. Scientists favor the idea that the virus normally dwells in animals, jumping the species barrier every now and then to cause an outbreak among people.
But after years of searching, researchers have yet to pin down information about where the virus lurks when it’s not tormenting humans. “We don’t have anything at all about Bundibugyo,” said Mekala Sundaram, an ecologist at the University of Georgia.
That ignorance leaves humanity vulnerable. Bundibugyo virus could very well cause more outbreaks in the future; preventing them depends in part on knowing where the pathogen hides. The same is true for other viruses that cause Ebola disease — and still other related viruses that have yet to make that first jump to people."
