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The Ebola virus is an RNA virus of Filoviridae family. The earliest documented fatal epidemic of Ebola hemorrhagic occurred in 1976. There are four genetically different subtypes of Ebola virus. The virus remains in the blood for several weeks, can maintain its infectivity for several weeks at 20 degrees C outside the body, and survives for several weeks in corpses. Isolation of Ebola virus requires level 4 laboratory security conditions. Specimens are obtained by culturing mammal cells. Identification is achieved using reference serums. Serologic diagnosis is made using mainly ELISA technique for immunocapture of IgM or EBO Ag. The natural reservoir for Ebola virus is unknown. One possibility is that each isolated strain has a different reservoir. In recorded outbreaks, the index case has often had a history of contact with non-human primates. However since these animals are also highly sensitive to the virus, they cannot be considered as reservoirs but only as intermediate hosts. Transmission requires close contact such as occurs in association with health care, local customs, or funeral rites. In humans, infection causes hemorrhagic fever that progresses to diarrhea within 5 to 10 days. Recovery is observed in only 25% of cases. During outbreaks containment depends on implementation of simple precautions including isolation of suspected cases, appropriate protective clothing, disinfection with hypochlorite solutions, and proper waste disposal.

Africa is the continent most severely affected by the pandemic of immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1 and HIV-2). Nowadays (1990), at least 3 million individuals are infected and about 300,000 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have been recorded. HIV infections started in the seventies as sporadic cases in remote areas and spread throughout black Africa where they are now epidemic, with high seroprevalence (1p. 100-20 p. 100), even in the general population. Due to heterosexual transmission, the groups at highest risk are female prostitutes and their customers and people with genital ulcers and/or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The vertical infection rates remain uncertain but may be estimated at 40 to 65 p. 100 of pregnancies in HIV-infected mothers. Blood transfusions are the third mode of infection because of high demands for blood (sometimes not tested) arising from severe anaemias in children (malaria and sickle cell anaemia), in pregnant women and in patients needing surgery. STDs causing ulcers undoubtedly are cofactors in the invasion by HIV, while the most important cofactors in AIDS progression are recurrent STDs, chronic activation of the immune system and repeated pregnancies that activate HIV-infected lymphocytes. The minimum mortality rate of AIDS is about 1 in 5000. Spatial, cultural and demographic factors should also be taken into consideration for all AIDS control programmes which must be integrated into the primary health care systems of African states.

Description of Cercopithifilaria corneti sp. n., a parasite of the subcutaneous tissues of Nandinia binotata, is given. With its 16 species parasitizing a variety of mammals from all over the world, the genus Cercopithifilaria has a homogeneous morphology and a uniform biology (dermal microfilariae, ixodid vectors). It is suggested that the unexpected host range is the consequence of particular speciation phenomena in relation to the biology of Ixodidae.

Four cases of infranuclear facial palsy associated with infection by the human immunodeficiency virus in young heterosexual African patients are reported. Two cases were healthy HIV carriers, one patient manifested AIDS-related complex, and one case fulfilled the CDC criteria for AIDS. Two patients had a typical Bell's palsy, one presented with manifest cephalic Herpes zoster infection and one, who suffered from facial diplegia, could be considered to have a cephalic form of Guillain-Barré syndrome. A review of the literature confirmed that peripheral facial palsy can occur at any stage of HIV infection and in various clinical contexts. In stages I and II of the HIV infection, patients may develop either Bell's palsy or Guillain-Barré syndrome. In stages III and IV, when the cellular immunity has begun to decline, Herpes zoster-related facial paralysis, seventh cranial nerve involvement secondary to meningeal lymphomatosis, and peripheral facial paralysis as one aspect of widespread chronic peripheral neuropathy may also occur.