Scientists fromdifferent parts of the worldare camping at the Tai forestin western Ivory Coast totrack down the source of theebola virus. The researchteam has set up a laboratoryeach in the forest and thecapital Abidjan to identifyebola antibodies in capturedforest animals. So far, thesearch for the natural host -the plant or animal whichharbours the virus when it is not affecting humans or other primates - has not led to the culprit. The research is being conducted here as there had been a few ebola outbreaks in the country and it has a well-researched population of primates.
The ebola virus has been found to kill chimpanzees in the Tal forest. These chimps had fed on the highly-decomposed carcass of a red colobus monkey. Scientists are now studying the red colobus and tropical bats which have been found to carry the virus without getting affected. The ebola tends to break out at the end of rainy season in November. During rains, the colobus monkeys share tree hollows with bats and other creatures. A change in their diet also makes them susceptible to the virus during this season.