NM: This killer first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and Zaire. It reemerged in 1987 in a group of monkeys in a test lab near Washington D.C. What is it?

The killer described in the trivia is indeed Ebola, a highly dangerous virus that first came to global attention in 1976. That year, two nearly simultaneous outbreaks of a severe hemorrhagic fever occurred in remote areas of Sudan and Zaire, which is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus was named after the Ebola River, located near one of the affected regions in Zaire. These initial outbreaks were devastating, characterized by high mortality rates and a mystery surrounding the cause of the illness.

Years later, in the late 1980s, a related event brought a strain of the virus much closer to home for many. In 1989, a different species of Ebola virus, later named Reston virus, was discovered in a group of monkeys at a research facility in Reston, Virginia, near Washington D.C. These monkeys had been imported from the Philippines. While this particular strain was highly lethal to the monkeys, it remarkably did not cause severe illness in the human researchers who were exposed to it, though some did develop antibodies. This incident highlighted the potential for such viruses to appear unexpectedly and sparked significant scientific and public health interest.

Ebola viruses belong to the Filoviridae family and are known for causing severe, often fatal, hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates. The natural reservoir for Ebola is believed to be fruit bats, and the virus can spread to humans through contact with infected animals or through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. Since its initial discovery, Ebola has reemerged periodically, primarily in Central and West Africa, prompting international health responses and ongoing research into its origins and prevention.