The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976, near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since its initial discovery, sporadic outbreaks have occurred across Africa. The largest of these was the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic, which severely impacted Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Beyond these major African outbreaks, isolated cases and smaller clusters have also been reported in Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, the United States, Mali, the United Kingdom, and Italy.