Ebola – deforestation and diet
Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease, with case fatality rates ranging from around 25 per cent to 90 per cent, depending on the virus species and the outbreak. It is a viral haemorrhagic fever affecting humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. The virus is transmitted to humans from infected animals – it is a zoonotic disease – and can then spread through human-to-human contact.
Ebola was first identified in 1976 during two simultaneous outbreaks: one in Nzara, South Sudan, and another in Yambuku in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name. Since then, there have been multiple outbreaks, including the most recent in 2026.
current outbreak
As of May 19, there have been at least 500 suspected cases of Ebola and 130 suspected deaths since the new outbreak began. The director general of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said he is deeply concerned about the scale and the speed of the outbreak and more cases are expected to be reported.
The current outbreak – so far limited to the DRC and Uganda – is due to a rare strain of the virus known as Bundibugyo, named after Uganda’s Bundibugyo province, where it was first identified during an outbreak in 2007-2008.
The largest outbreak to date occurred in West Africa (with most cases in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) between 2014 and 2016. It is believed to have begun in December 2013, when an 18-month-old boy from a village in Guinea was infected, possibly through contact with bats. One hypothesis is that he was exposed while playing in a hollow tree inhabited by fruit bats. His death was followed by infections in close family members and the virus soon spread to urban areas.
On 13 March 2014, Guinea’s Ministry of Health reported an unidentified illness. The Pasteur Institute in France later confirmed it as Ebola virus disease. Ten days later, with 49 confirmed cases and 29 deaths, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an outbreak. By the end of the epidemic, more than 28,600 cases and 11,308 deaths had been recorded across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with a small number of cases reported in Europe and the United States.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected humans or animals, including blood, saliva, mucus, vomit, faeces, urine, breast milk and semen. The virus can enter the body through the eyes, nose, mouth, broken skin, or mucous membranes.
Fruit bats are widely considered the natural reservoir of ebolaviruses, meaning they can carry and transmit the virus without showing symptoms. Other animals – including chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, baboons and duikers (forest antelope) – can become infected and may act as intermediary hosts.
Although the exact pathway of transmission from animals to humans is not always clear, spillover events are thought to involve direct contact with infected wildlife, including through hunting, butchering or consumption. ‘Bushmeat’ refers to wild animals hunted for food, such as bats, primates, rodents and antelope. Handling or consuming infected animals can expose people to zoonotic pathogens via bites, scratches, blood or other bodily fluids.
Bats are of particular interest in disease ecology because they host a wide range of viruses, including ebolaviruses. Some species of fruit bats have been found to carry the virus. In parts of Central and West Africa, bushmeat remains a significant source of food and income; for example, an estimated several million tonnes are consumed annually in the Congo Basin. Ghana, for example, hosts large colonies of straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum), and over 128,000 are hunted annually for food in the south of the country alone.
In addition to the pressures from hunting, environmental pressures such as deforestation and population growth are increasing contact between humans and wildlife, which can elevate the risk of zoonotic disease emergence. Ebola outbreaks have often been associated with regions undergoing recent ecological disruption, including forest loss.
What you can do
Many people don’t realise the links that exist between eating meat and other animal products in the UK and deforestation on the other side of the planet. A recent government report states that “deforestation worldwide [is] estimated to be associated with UK consumption of food commodities” and notes that “high impact foods include meat, fish and cheese.”
“Meat production drives land use change in two ways: an increased need for pastureland for extensive production and an increase in cropland to grow feed ingredients such as soya beans for more intensive production. Livestock grazing is also a principal source of land degradation and is especially problematic in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Defra, 2024.
Choosing a vegan diet is one practical way to reduce your reliance on systems that drive habitat loss, wildlife exploitation and disease emergence, while supporting a healthier and more sustainable future.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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