Dr Mahgoub Osman Karrar who wrote the first clinical report on Ebola virus disease worldwide.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Dr Ibrahim Hassan Fahal cordially contributed this article and sent the original document of the late Dr Mahjoub Osman Karrar who wrote the first clinical report on Ebola virus disease worldwide in 1976. On 4 October 1976, an epidemiologist from the Central Ministry of Health, Sudan, Dr Ali Ahmed Idris, accompanied by a clinical team of physicians arrived in Maridi to investigate an unknown haemorrhagic fever epidemic that devastated this town in Equatoria Region of southern Sudan (Currently, South Sudan) with an alarmingly high mortality rate including 41 of the Hospital Staff and the only doctor managing the patients (the late Dr Abdeen Khairy) [1,2]. The team of physicians who accompanied Dr Ali Ahmed Idris consisted of Dr Mahgoub Osman Karrar and Dr Awad Osman Mahdi (both were Medical Registrars at Khartoum Hospital, Khartoum) and Dr Hyder Hamza who had just finished his housemanship [2]. Dr Ali Ahmed Idris stayed in Maridi and Nzara for 5 days (till 9 October 1976), whereas the rest of the group (Drs Magoub, Awad and Hyder) joined the Hospital Staff in Maridi and dealt with the patients till the end of the epidemic [2]. Dr Mahgoub Osman Karrar compiled his clinical observations in a document and presented his findings to the Regional Minister of Health, Dr Justin Yac, and the other health authorities (Figure 1). He called the outbreak “MARIDI VIRUS DISEASE” (Figure 2). The original document was in Roneo (mimeograph) format. A reproduction of it is to be found below with careful maintenance of its style except for APPENDIX I and APPENDIX II which have been redrawn for clarity.