Identified Ebola Virus Disease
General Director of the National Institute for Biomedical Research, Democratic Republic of the Congo
MD, University of Kinshasa (DRC) 1969
PhD (Medicine/Virology), Rega Institute for Medical Research, Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) 1973
During the 1978 outbreak, he identified the disease that would be named Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). He collected samples from patients that would be used to identify the virus. During the 1995 outbreak, he determined that EVD is spread by contact transmission in hospitals and during funeral rituals. He worked with community leaders to create a public education program that integrated science and culture to limited the spread of the virus.
1. 2019 Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize (co-awardee) for research on various deadly viruses and leadership in the efforts to contain Ebola Virus outbreaks.
2. 2015 Le Prix Christophe Merieux from Institut de France for research in the field of African infectious diseases.
BIO 393 Virology
Photo 1: https://www.afro.who.int/photo-story/how-ebola-helping-democratic-republic-congo-prepare-coronavirus-disease
Photo 2: https://time.com/3502740/ebola-virus-1976/