U.S "owns" Ebola??

Read some perplexing story about the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention "owning" the Ebola virus... Like how's that even possible? Well here's how they put it:

"The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "owns" the Ebola virus. The CDC is said to have a patent on the Ebola virus while the US National Institute of Health has reportedly patented all ebola vaccines.

"A patent is a government authority or license conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention."

Question is, why would they be interested in owning it in the first place??
Read more:news24