Source: National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) — Content from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (public domain).
Key points
* Marburg virus disease (Marburg) is a rare but severe hemorrhagic fever that can cause serious illness and death.
* Symptoms can be similar to other tropical diseases, making diagnosis challenging.
* There is no treatment or vaccine for Marburg.
* The disease spreads through contact with infected animals or people.
Overview
Marburg is a rare, severe viral hemorrhagic fever which affects both people and other primates, like apes and monkeys. Caused by infection with either Marburg virus or Ravn virus, both types of orthomarburgviruses, the disease can lead to serious illness or death. Symptoms can appear suddenly and may include fever, rash, and severe bleeding.
Orthomarburgviruses are naturally found in the Egyptian rousette bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) and can spread from bats to people. Marburg virus is most commonly found in sub-Saharan Africa.
Marburg virus disease is named for the German city where scientists became ill with the disease’s first known cases in 1967 while handling monkeys imported from Africa.
Healthcare providers:
Review clinical screening and diagnosis guidance for viral hemorrhagic fevers, like Marburg.
Clinical Screening and Diagnosis for VHFs
Most Marburg outbreaks have occurred in central Africa
Symptoms
Initial Marburg symptoms include:
* Fever
* Chills
* Headache
* Muscle aches
* Rash with both flat and raised bumps, often on the torso
* Chest pain
* Sore throat
* Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
As the disease advances, symptoms can become more severe, including liver failure, delirium, shock, bleeding (hemorrhaging), and multi-organ dysfunction.
How long it takes for signs to show
People with Marburg usually start getting sick 2-21 days after they were infected with the virus.
Risk factors
Those most at risk for Marburg include:
* People in contact with Egyptian rousette bats or their excretions
* People caring for individuals sick with the disease without proper protective equipment
* People in contact with infected non-human primates
How it spreads
The Marburg virus is spread from infected Egyptian rousette bats to people. The virus is found in the saliva, urine, and feces of infected bats. Once the disease has “spilled over” from wildlife to people, those who are sick can spread the disease to other people.
Someone can become infected with the Marburg virus if they have contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with:
* Body fluids of a person who is sick with or died from Marburg
* Objects contaminated with their fluids like clothes, bedding, needles and equipment
* Semen from a man who has recovered from infection with Marburg
Prevention
To prevent Marburg:
* Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of people who are sick.
* Avoid contact with semen from a person who recovered from Marburg until testing shows that the virus is gone from their semen.
* Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person's body fluids.
* Avoid contact with Egyptian Rousette bats and non-human primates if you're in areas where Marburg is found.
Treatment and recovery
Marburg virus causes a serious, deadly disease. Between 20-90 percent of people with the disease will die.
Currently, there are no licensed treatments for Marburg. Treatment is limited to supportive care. This includes rest, hydration, managing oxygen status and blood pressure, and treatment of secondary infections.
What CDC is doing
In addition to conducting ongoing research to better understand the disease, CDC responds to Marburg outbreaks around the globe. Experts provide infection prevention and control guidance for healthcare facilities and people’s homes to keep the disease from spreading. CDC also offers diagnostic testing to confirm the disease.