Ebola hemorrhagic fever (alternatively Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever, EHF, or just Ebola) is a very rare, but severe, usually fatal infectious disease occurring in humans and other primates, caused by the Ebola virus.

The Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. Epidemics with 50 to 90% mortality have occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Uganda and Sudan.

The virus comes from the Filoviridae family, of which Marburg virus is also a member. It is named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), near the first epidemics.

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