The first known Ebola outbreak devastated a small village called Yambuku and the surrounding area in the north of the Congo in 1976.
When it started to kill patients in a missionary hospital, a Flemish nun was infected, and samples of her blood were sent to Belgium. Scientists soon realized they were dealing with something unknown.
After a harrowing experience with the virus in the lab, Peter Piot, a 27-year-old doctor who was one of the first to examine Ebola, left his pregnant wife in Belgium and set off for the Congo, then called Zaire, to track down the source of the outbreak. There he joined researchers from around the world for a terrifying hunt for the origin of the disease.
Piot wrote about the experience in his book "No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses." Using photos from the CDC's Public Health Image Library, we've illustrated their several expeditions into the Congo.
Immediately upon arrival, Piot was swept through the airport — avoiding customs, because his passport wasn't valid — and rushed to meet the others who planned to track down the virus’ source. He’s the third from the left in the middle row here, wearing the colorful shirt.
Their mission was in Yambuku, 700 miles northeast. Stories of birds dropping out of the sky, sick with fever, and of human bodies by the roadsides had terrified pilots who at first refused to fly the team to the closest airfield in Bumba, a town of 10,000 on the edge of the epidemic zone.
After some cajoling, pilots agreed to drop the team and their Land Rover off if they could immediately depart for safety. Hundreds of scared locals surrounded the plane upon arrival, hoping for a way out, but military police beat them back so the researchers could unload.
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