The virus, Ebola has killed a third of the world’s gorillas in the past decade, and tens of thousands of chimps. The disease, which can have a mortality rate of more than 90 per cent, is now working its way through the densest population of apes in the world – in Odzala National Park in the Republic of the Congo. But, scientists have rightfully provided a ray of hope for their survival. An existing vaccine may stem its spread. Previously scientists believed that Ebola was spread there seemed little anyone could do. But it now appears that the calculations were wrong, and the apes could be saved with an existing vaccine. Ebola has cropped up sporadically across central Africa, leading epidemiologists to suspect that it was lurking across the region in some as yet unknown “reservoir” species.
Via: New Scientist