The Marburg virus causes an illness characterized by severe hemorrhagic fever, which is often fatal in humans. It was first discovered in 1967, in Germany, in the cities of Marburg and Frankfurt, as well as in Belgrade, Serbia. Subsequently, outbreaks as well as sporadic cases have all been described in Africa. The incubation period, the time between infection and the appearance of symptoms, can vary from 2 to 21 days. This then sets in, in particular, a sudden high fever, severe headaches and serious discomfort. Hemorrhages are also significant.
There is currently no vaccine or approved antiretroviral treatment, but trials in non-human primates have shown effective results in eliminating the virus using a combination of a monoclonal antibody and the antiviral drug remdesivir.
What is Marburg virus disease?
Marburg virus disease is a serious pathology, a very often fatal infectious disease in humans which is caused by the Marburg virus. This pathogen causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans, causing organ dysfunction that can lead to death.
This Marburg virus disease (MVB) was detected for the first time in 1967: in fact, epidemic outbreaks then occurred simultaneously in Marburg and Frankfurt, in Germany, as well as in Serbia, in Belgrade. Like Ebola virus, Marburg virus is a member of the filoviridae family, and these two infectious agents, although distinct, generate similar symptoms clinically.
While the average case fatality rate for this disease is around 50%, it has varied from 24% to 88% during previous epidemic outbreaks, depending on the viral strain as well as case management. The occurrence for the first time of this pathology in Germany and Serbia where it caused an epidemic outbreak was, in fact, linked to laboratory work on African green monkeys, called Cercopithecus aethiops ; these had been imported from Uganda. Other epidemic outbreaks were subsequently described, as well as sporadic cases, all in Africa: in Angola, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Kenya, in South Africa (in a person who had traveled some time before to Zimbabwe ) as well as in Uganda.
During the most widely reported outbreak, in Angola in 2005, more than 250 people were infected and 90% of them died.
When diagnosing this disease, it should be noted that it can be difficult, based on clinical symptoms, to differentiate between Marburg virus disease and other diseases such as:
- Malaria ;
- Typhoid fever;
- La shigellose ;
- Cholera;
- Other viral hemorrhagic fevers.
It will therefore be necessary to confirm, through tests, that the symptoms are caused by a Marburg virus infection. These diagnostic techniques are as follows:
- An enzyme immunoassay, also called ELISA test;
- An antigen immunocapture test;
- A serum neutralization test;
- Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR);
- Electron microscopy;
- Isolation of the virus in cell culture.
Since samples collected from patients present an extreme biohazard, laboratory tests performed on samples that have not been inactivated must be carried out under maximum biocontainment conditions.
What causes Marburg virus disease?
Transmission of the virus by a bat
It is a bat that transmits the Marburg virus to humans: in fact, it is accepted that it is a fruit bat of the Pteropodidae family, named Rousettus aegypticus , which is the natural host of the virus. Marburg. Infection in humans will therefore generally be caused initially by prolonged exposure inside mines or caves hosting colonies of fruit bats.
Human-to-human infection
The virus is then transmitted above all from man to man, resulting from direct contact, whether by a scratch or through the mucous membranes, with blood, secretions, organs or biological fluids of infected people. It can also happen that surfaces and materials, such as sheets or clothing, become contaminated with these fluids and also transmit the infection.
Infection of health workers
Unfortunately, frequent cases of infection of health workers caring for suspected or even confirmed cases of Marburg virus disease have been described. In fact, the cause of these infections is linked to close contact with patients without having taken the necessary anti-infection precautions.
Burial
It is absolutely necessary to avoid, during burial ceremonies, direct contact with the body of the deceased: in fact, this can also cause the spread of Marburg virus disease. In particular, you should know that infected people remain contagious as long as the virus is present in their blood.
Marburg virus: description of the causative agent of the disease
The pathogen which causes the pathology is therefore a deadly virus similar to that of Ebola, it is one of the most fatal viruses ever described, with a morbidity rate of around 50%. Marburg virus is an enveloped, single-stranded, RNA (ribonucleic acid) virus. It has a length ranging from 800 to 14,000 nm, and it is more infectious when its length is around 790 nm. The Marburg virus is made up of seven structural proteins. Although this virus is almost identical in structure to the Ebola virus , it is likely to induce different antibodies in infected individuals.
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