Animation of an Ebolavirus particle being taken into a cell. Ebolavirus causes the deadly disease Ebola haemorrhagic fever. The virus enters cells through a process called macropinocytosis. This is a method by which cells naturally take in relatively large particles or volumes of solution. The Ebolavirus hijacks this pathway to gain entry to the cell. The process begins with the virus approaching a folded region of the cell membrane, known as a ruffle. The virus binds to the surface by the ruffle and stimulates the closure of the ruffles around the virus. The resulting closed vesicle is called a macropinosome, and once it is closed, it detaches from the rest of the membrane above it, and moves into the cell body. Here the macropinosome binds with a lysosome, in which the virus coating opens to release the genetic material. Ebola causes vomiting, diarrhoea and severe internal bleeding, and death often follows from fluid loss. The lost body fluids are highly contagious, and the virus can spread rapidly if good hygiene is not maintained. Ebola occurs in periodic outbreaks, the largest of which has been the ongoing outbreak in West Africa. Original same as master.