The Marburg virus is an extremely infectious and deadly pathogen. The virus has gained significant attention due to its potential to contribute to severe outbreaks. The current review focuses on key issues related to the Marburg virus: how the infection occurs, its discovery, symptoms and severity, causes, and prevention measures.
What is Marburg Virus?
The Marburg virus belongs to a family of viruses known as Filoviridae; for this reason, it is very much similar to the Ebola virus. Infection with this virus causes a disease known as the Marburg virus disease but is commonly referred to as Marburg hemorrhagic fever.
It is a rare but severe human and non-human primate illness. Indeed, the Marburg virus can be considered one of the most dangerous pathogens in the world because fatality rates can run up to 88% as per WHO.
How Do People Get Marburg Virus?
Humans can get the Marburg virus through close contact with infected animals or other people. In the main, the virus is passed through direct contacts with infected persons or animals with infected bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, urine, and sweat. Among the main ways humans develop Marburg virus infection are:
- Animal to Human Transmission: It is a zoonotic virus that can jump from animals to humans. Its natural hosts are fruit bats, usually of the species Rousettus aegyptiacus. Transmission will occur with contact either with infected bats or infected nonhuman primates-monkeys-or other contact with their secretions.
- Human to Human Transmission: After a person gets infected, the virus is transmitted by coming into direct contact with the body fluids of the infected person. This usually happens in the form of nosocomial or health-care-associated transmissions when health professionals dealing with such patients are not adequately using PPE.
How Did the Marburg Virus Started?
The Marburg virus was first identified in 1967 with outbreaks occurring at the same time in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, and Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The virus involved was isolated from personnel exposed to African green monkeys imported from Uganda for laboratory use. Fruit bats were traced as the virus’s natural reservoir; thus, the virus found its zoonotic origin.
Also Read: Global Emergency for the outbreak of Monkeypox: Symptoms, Transmission, Prevention and Treatments
Symptoms of Marburg Virus Disease
The incubation period of the Marburg virus ranges from 2 to 21 days. Early symptoms are often nonspecific, as in the case of other diseases like malaria or typhoid fever; diagnosis may hence be difficult in its early stages. Common symptoms include the following:
- High fever
- Severe headache
- Muscle pain
- Weakness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea-watery, often severe
As the disease advances, more serious symptoms may appear, including the following:
- Abdominal pain
- Rash
- Hemorrhaging-internal and external bleeding
- Organ failure
- Shock
How does the Marburg virus affect the body?
It causes a widespread inflammation and destruction of tissues in several organ systems. The most distinctive feature of this disease is bleeding that may be from the gastrointestinal tract, nose, gum, and other body orifices leading to, in most instances, death caused by multi-organ failure.
How Bad is the Marburg virus?
Marburg virus disease is a very severe viral hemorrhagic fever with case fatality rates that have ranged from 24% to 88%, depending on the outbreak management. Due to the aggressiveness of the virus, death from multi-organ failure usually occurs within 7 to 10 days from the beginning of the symptoms. In some outbreaks, mortality has gone as high as 90%.
Is Marburg virus deadlier than Ebola?
Both viruses come from the same family of viruses known as Filoviridae and have the same fatality rate. However, some strains of Ebola have been associated with higher fatality rates. Relatively speaking, Marburg outbreaks have been less frequent but just as deadly.
Marburg Virus Causes and Transmissions
The Marburg virus is caused by contact with infected animals or humans. Fruit bats, especially the species Rousettus aegyptiacus, are considered the natural host of the virus, and the virus spreads from these to humans by direct contact with these bats or their secretions.
When human infection has occurred, the virus could spread quickly through communities and hospitals because of:
- Contact with infected body fluids
- Contaminated use of medical equipment
- Burial practices where bodies are touched without proper precautions
Is Marburg virus contagious?
Yes, Marburg virus is extremely contagious through direct contact with bodily fluid. In human-to-human transmission, it travels via broken skin or mucous membranes upon contact with contaminated fluids.
How Long Does Marburg Virus Last?
Incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days. The typical onset is 5 to 10 days, with survivors recovering slowly over several weeks after the acute phases. Early intervention and supportive care go a long way in determining the duration of the disease.
Marburg Virus-Prevention and Control
Currently, there is no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment against the Marburg virus. Infection prevention relies mainly on controlling outbreaks by the strict enforcement of public health measures. Infection prevention may be supported by:
- PPE: Full protective equipment must be worn while treating the infected patients by healthcare workers.
- Safe Burial Practices: The bodies of the dead victims are extremely infectious and must be dealt with cautiously.
- Avoidance of Animal Reservoirs: Individuals in endemic areas should avoid infected fruit bats and infected monkeys.
Rapid response teams, identification of contacts, quarantine have been emphasized through international health organizations such as the WHO and Ministry of Health/ Rwanda as being essential in preventing virus dissemination during outbreaks.
🚨Hashyizweho Ingamba zo kwirinda no guhangana n’indwara y’umuriro mwinshi iterwa na virusi ya Marburg
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Enhanced preventive measures implemented for viral fever🚨 pic.twitter.com/RonMVKYsyE— Ministry of Health | Rwanda (@RwandaHealth) September 27, 2024
How Does Marburg Virus Compare to Ebola?
The Marburg virus and Ebola virus belong to the same virus family, Filoviridae, which causes hemorrhagic fever. Although they share many features, there are certain distinctions in mortality rates, geographical distribution of the cases, and other factors. These distinctions are outlined below.
Mortality Rates: Ebola experienced higher caseload mortality in some of its outbreaks.
Geographic Distribution: Marburg outbreaks have been more confined to Central and Eastern Africa, while Ebola has struck Central and West Africa.
Where is the Marburg virus now?
Over the past decade, several outbreaks have been reported in certain African countries. Recent ones include:
- 2022: Ghana reported its first case of the Marburg virus.
- 2023: Tanzania confirmed a case positive for the virus, extending the concern about the geographic range further.
- 2024: Marburg virus in Rwanda that has infected 27 people and killed 9.
Health authorities and the WHO monitor these outbreak areas actively for controlling the spread of the virus. The ministry is monitoring 410 people who have been in contact with those infected. You can get more informations from WHO site.
