Current Ebola outbreak is from the deadliest type of Ebola virus
These death rates were calculated by adding up the records of cases and deaths from all known outbreaks. Individual outbreaks can vary, and Zaire ebolavirus is often cited as having death rates up to 90 percent.
Not all Ebola viruses are the same. As happens often with viruses, close relatives can have very different effects.
The current Ebola outbreak is of the Zaire ebolavirus species. This one has historically had the highest death rate of the five different species of Ebola virus. The species was named after Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), where it was first found in 1976.
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By Julia Belluz and Alex Ward
