Marburg virus infection causes coagulation abnormalities, increased vascular permeability and hemorrhagic manifestations, all of which are closely inter–related and result in the development of typical viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) manifestations. Coagulation abnormalities are observed as thrombocytopenia associated with prolonged coagulation times, reduced factor V and II levels and deficiency in fibrinogen.
Marburg virus was first recognized in 1967, when outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever occurred simultaneously in laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany and in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). A total of 31 people became ill with seven deaths; they included laboratory workers as well as medical personnel and family members who had cared for them.
The first people infected had been exposed to imported African green monkeys or their tissues while conducting research.
The largest outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fevers recorded to date began in late 1998 in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The new virus, named after Marburg Germany, was the first recognized Filovirus. The second known member was the Ebola virus which produces a similar illness.
Scientific studies implicate the African fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) as the reservoir host of the Marburg virus. The African fruit bat is a sighted, cave-dwelling bat which is widely distributed across Africa. Marburg virus is believed to be native only to Africa.
The incubation period in humans ranges from 2 to 21 days, with an average overall incubation period of 5–9 days. The disease course largely presents in three distinct phases: a generalization phase, an early organ phase and a late organ or convalescence phase, depending on the outcome of infection.
Symptoms of the disease: After an incubation period of 5-10 days, the onset of the disease is sudden and is marked by fever, chills, headache, and myalgia. Around the fifth day after the onset of symptoms, a maculopapular rash, most prominent on the trunk (chest, back, stomach), may occur. Nausea, vomiting, chest pain, a sore throat, abdominal pain, and diarrhea then may appear.
Marburg hemorrhagic fevers
