Marburg virus is a hemorrhagic fever virus of the Filoviridae family and a member of the species Marburg marburgvirus, genus Marburgvirus. Marburg virus causes Marburg virus disease in humans and other primates, a form of viral hemorrhagic fever. The virus is considered to be extremely dangerous.
Marburg Virus Disease:-
★Facts
★History
★Causes
★Symptoms & Signs
★Risk Factors
★Treatment
* FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MARBURG VIRUS DISEASE
Marburg virus disease is endemic in Africa (likely in African green monkeys and certain bats) and can be transmitted to humans.
The disease can be transmitted from person to person by exposure to blood and other bodily secretions.
Marburg virus disease is caused by viruses that produce fever symptoms, chills, headaches, and muscle aches early in the disease; symptoms worsen and may lead to hemorrhagic fever and death. Risk factors include exposure to African green monkeys and certain bats; in addition, exposure to an infected human is a high-risk factor.
The diagnosis of Marburg virus disease is usually made by specialized laboratories.
Treatment is limited to supportive care, usually in an intensive-care unit.
Specialists that may be consulted include critical-care specialists, infectious-disease specialists, hematologists, lung specialists, and prevention of Marburg viral disease involves avoiding contact with African animals that may carry the disease and using strict isolation procedures to avoid any bodily fluids or tissues from humans infected with Marburg viruses.
The prognosis for Marburg virus disease is only fair to poor; fatality rates vary from about 23%-90%.
Complications of Marburg virus infections include eye, nerve, and bleeding problems.
Research is ongoing; Africa is experiencing more problems with viral diseases as humans increase their contact with African animals that previously had little contact with humans.
* HISTORY
What is Marburg virus disease?
In 1967, laboratory workers in the same lab in Marburg, Germany, were hospitalized with an unknown disease. The laboratory workers exhibited the same symptoms, including fever, diarrhea, vomiting, massive bleeding from many different organs, shock, and collapse of the circulatory system. In this outbreak, 31 people were infected, and seven died. The source of the infection was traced to a virus infecting African green monkeys that were imported from Uganda, Africa, and was being used for polio vaccine research. This new virus was eventually designated as a new virus family termed Filoviridae. The other members of the family are Ebola viruses (five different species). Filoviridae contain one negative-sense RNA strand and have a covering or envelope composed of a lipid membrane. The disease Marburg virus causes are termed Marburg virus disease.
The outbreaks of Marburg virus disease have occurred in Uganda. In 2012, 15 individuals were diagnosed, and four people died (27% fatality rate). Again, the Ugandan Ministry of Health reported on Oct. 5, 2014, that a healthcare worker died of Marburg virus disease (formerly known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever [Marburg HF]) on Sept. 30, 2014. The source of his exposure is not clear. This is of interest since the Marburg virus is a close relative of the Ebola virus, and both produce clinical signs and symptoms that are often indistinguishable. Health officials said that about 80 people who were in contact with the man who died had been identified and observed for 21 days for signs and symptoms of the disease. No one else contracted the disease.
* WHAT CAUSES MARBURG DISEASE?
Marburg and Ebola viruses are zoonotic infections (transmitted to humans from life cycles in other animals). Although it is unclear which animals contain both Marburg and Ebola, it is thought that both may be transmitted to humans from monkeys and/or bats (African fruit bat and Rousettus bat). There is no evidence for any insect vectors. Although it is unclear how humans contract these viruses from other animals (perhaps by eating them or by contamination of animal body fluids), it is clear that human-to-human transfer occurs by direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluids (for example, saliva, tears, excretions, vomitus, and blood). The Marburg viruses are not thought to be spread by air droplets.
What are the symptoms and signs of Marburg infection? What is the incubation period for a Marburg virus infection?
* THE SYMPTOMS OF MARBURG VIRUS infection usually come on suddenly after an incubation period of about five to 10 days. Early symptoms are as follows:
Fever
Chills
Headache
Muscle aches
About five days after the symptoms first occur, other symptoms may occur as follows:
A rash occurs on the chest, back, and stomach in some individuals.
Nausea
Vomiting
Chest pain
Symptoms continue and can become severe; they include the following:
Jaundice
Pancreatic inflammation
Severe weight loss
Delirium
Liver failure
Massive hemorrhaging with organ dysfunction
The case fatality rate (death rate) ranges from about 23%-90% of infected individuals. Many of the symptoms are similar to those of other infectious diseases such as Ebola, malaria, typhoid fever, and others, so diagnostic tests are useful to rule out other causes. People exposed to the Marburg virus usually show signs of infection no later than about 14 days after exposure. Still, because the clinical symptoms resemble Ebola virus disease, most people are placed in isolation for 21 days.
* WHAT ARE RISK FACTORS FOR GETTING MARBURG INFECTIONS?
People at risk contact African monkeys (bush meat means meat from monkeys) and bats; individuals who research these viruses are also at higher risk of becoming infected. There have been several outbreaks in Africa in miners due to their exposure to bats. Veterinarians may also be at higher risk if they are exposed to African monkeys. Also, people who care for Marburg virus-infected patients and/or health workers who remove those bodies of deceased Marburg virus-infected patients are at high risk of contracting the disease.
* WHAT TREATMENT IS AVAILABLE FOR MARBURG VIRUS INFECTIONS?
Like Ebola and many other viral diseases, there is no specific treatment for Marburg virus disease. Patients are given supportive hospital care by maintaining their fluid and electrolyte balance and other considerations, such as replacing lost blood and maintaining a good oxygen supply. This supportive care is most effectively done in an intensive-care hospital unit. There are no home remedies to treat Marburg virus infections.
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