A disease of deforestation: how Ebola is linked to the smartphone in your pocket

Virus-laden bats who live in places like the DRC, the world’s top producer of cobalt, which encompass 60% of the world’s second largest rainforest. Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

For decades after the discovery of Ebolavirus in 1976, outbreaks of the disease were relatively small and contained, affecting a few hundred people at most.

Not any more. In recent years, outbreaks of Ebola have been much larger, affecting thousands and even tens of thousands of people across multiple countries. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola in west Africa infected more than 28,000 people in 10 countries on three continents. The current eruption, which began in early May and shows no signs of abating, has caused 363 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has crossed into Uganda.