What is significant about Mr. Yu G?

Mr. Yu G is a storekeeper who lives in the town of Nzara in Sudan. His significance lies in the fact that in 1976 he became the first known victim of Ebola Sudan, the most lethal strain of this deadly virus. The author of The Hot Zone, Richard Preston, mentions that a number of bats roost in the ceiling above Mr. Yu G's desk, although it cannot yet be established that they are the source of Ebola. But whatever the source, there's no doubt that a serious outbreak has taken place.
It soon spreads like wildfire; Mr. Yu G is given a traditional burial, exposing a number of people to potential infection. There are so many different ways for Ebola to spread, and if the virus isn't identified quickly and proper methods of infection control put in place, the local population is in imminent danger. Sadly, this is the situation in which Sudan finds itself in 1976, and Mr. Yu G's death is simply the first of many.