Congo River and "Congo" is the preferred English name in 19th-century literature, although references to "Zahir" or "Zaire" as the name used by the inhabitants remained common. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo are named after it, as was the previous Republic of the Congo which had gained independence in 1960 from the Belgian Congo. The Republic of Zaire during 1971–1997 was also named after the river, after its name in French and Portuguese. The Congo's drainage basin covers , an area larger than India. The Congo's discharge at its mouth ranges from , with an
Zaire ebolavirus to be preceded by the word "species". The names of its members (Zaire ebolaviruses) are to be capitalized, are not italicized, and used without articles. The species was introduced in 1998 as "Zaire Ebola virus". In 2002, the name was changed to "Zaire ebolavirus". A virus of the genus "Ebolavirus" is a member of the species "Zaire ebolavirus" if: "Zaire ebolavirus" diverged from its ancestors between 1960-1976. The genetic diversity of "Ebolavirus" remained constant before 1900. Then, around the 1960s, most likely due to climate change or human activities, the genetic diversity of the virus dropped rapidly and most lineages