Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a devastating, highly infectious illness with a high mortality rate. The disease is endemic to regions of Central and West Africa, where there is limited laboratory infrastructure and trained staff. The recent 2014 West African EVD outbreak has been unprecedented in case numbers and fatalities, and has proven that such regional outbreaks can become a potential threat to global public health, as it became the source for the subsequent transmission events in Spain and the USA. The urgent need for rapid and affordable means of detecting Ebola is crucial to control the spread of EVD and prevent devastating fatalities. Current diagnostic techniques include molecular diagnostics and other serological and antigen detection assays; which can be time-consuming, laboratory-based, often require trained personnel and specialized equipment. In this review, we discuss the various Ebola detection techniques currently in use, and highlight the potential future directions pertinent to the development and adoption of novel point-of-care diagnostic tools. Finally, a case is made for the need to develop novel microfluidic technologies and versatile rapid detection platforms for early detection of EVD.

埃博拉病毒病（EVD）是一种具有高死亡率的毁灭性，高度传染性疾病。该病是中非和西非地区的地方病，那里的实验室基础设施有限，训练有素的工作人员。最近的2014年西非EVD爆发病例和死亡人数史无前例，并证明此类区域性爆发可能成为全球公共卫生的潜在威胁，因为它成为随后在西班牙和美国传播的事件的来源。迫切需要快速且负担得起的埃博拉病毒检测手段，对于控制EVD的传播和防止毁灭性死亡至关重要。当前的诊断技术包括分子诊断以及其他血清学和抗原检测测定法；这可能是耗时的，基于实验室的 通常需要训练有素的人员和专用设备。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了当前正在使用的各种埃博拉病毒检测技术，并重点介绍了与新型即时医疗诊断工具的开发和采用有关的潜在未来方向。最后，需要开发新颖的微流体技术和通用的快速检测平台来早期检测EVD。