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This List of Ebola outbreaks records the known occurrences of Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Pathogens of the disease are the five ebolaviruses recognized by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses: Ebola virus (EBOV), Sudan virus (SUDV), Reston virus (RESTV), Taï Forest virus (TAFV), and Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), of which the Reston species has caused the illness only in other primates.
Transmission between natural reservoirs and humans is rare, and outbreaks of Ebola virus disease are often traceable to a single case where an individual has handled the carcass of a gorilla, chimpanzee, or duiker. The virus then spreads person-to-person, especially within families, hospitals, and during some mortuary rituals where contact among individuals becomes more likely.
Learning from failed responses, such as that to the 2000 Uganda outbreak, public health measures including the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network were instituted in areas at high risk. Field laboratories were established to confirm cases, instead of shipping samples to South Africa. Outbreaks are closely followed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Special Pathogens Branch) as well.
Nigeria was the first country in West Africa to successfully curtail the virus and its method also served as a model for other countries to follow.