Ebola Zaire virus. The first TEM photo ever taken of the Ebola Zaire virus in 1976 by doctor F.A. Murphy at CDC from a cell culture. The Ebola virus is one of the group of filoviruses, so-called for its thin and long shape. Here the viral filament is seen looping in on itself. A number of major outbreaks of this severe, frequently fatal viral hemorrhagic fever have occurred in equatorial Africa since 1976, one in Zaire in 1995. The virus appears similar to, but is antigenically distinct from the Marburg virus which causes green monkey disease. The illnesses from both Ebola and Marburg viruses are similar, with fever, skin rash, and hemorrhage. Death may be rapid.