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What is the Marburg virus? Symptoms, treatment, more

Marburg virus disease has killed 11 people and sickened 25 others in Rwanda, where an outbreak was reported on September 27.

Similar to Ebola, the rare but very serious disease can be fatal in up to 88% of those affected, depending on the strain of the virus and the treatment of the case.

For this reason, German authorities closed two tracks at Hamburg Central Station on October 2 after two train passengers were suspected of carrying the virus.

A medical worker carries a meal to an isolation tent housing a man who is being quarantined after coming into contact with a Marburg virus carrier in Uganda in October 2014. Similar to Ebola, Marburg virus disease is a rare but very serious disease that can be fatal in up to 88% of people who become ill. AP

Rwanda has confirmed 36 cases as of October 2, including at least 19 in health care workers, most of whom work in intensive care units.

According to a health alert issued Oct. 3 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, several cases are of unknown origin, suggesting additional cases may not have been detected or reported.

This is the first time the disease has been reported in Rwanda.

“WHO assesses the risk of this outbreak as very high at the national level, high at the regional level and low at the global level,” the World Health Organization said on September 30.

Here's everything you need to know about Marburg virus disease as the outbreak continues in Rwanda.

What is Marburg virus disease?

Egyptian trolley cats can transmit the Marburg virus to humans and animals. The Washington Post via Getty Images

Marburg virus disease, also called Marburg hemorrhagic fever, is most common in sub-Saharan Africa.

The disease, first discovered in 1967 after outbreaks in Germany and Serbia, is caused by the Marburg or Ravn virus, which belong to the orthomarburg viruses.

Orthomarburg viruses occur naturally in the Egyptian Roussette bat. The cave-dwelling flying foxes, which are native throughout Africa and the Middle East, can transmit the disease to humans through their feces.

Symptoms such as fever, rash, and heavy bleeding can appear suddenly and get worse quickly. There is no treatment for Marburg and infection often leads to serious illness or death.

How it spreads

This is a colorized scanning electron microscope image of Marburg virus particles. BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Animals can become infected with Marburg by eating bats or being bitten by an infected bat.

People can become ill through contact with infected animals, needles, objects or surfaces contaminated with the virus.

Marburg is spacious contact with body fluids – blood, urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, amniotic fluid or semen – of a person who is infected with the virus through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth.

It's not Marburg an airborne disease.

Symptoms

A virologist works at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, which researches Lassa fever, Marburg virus, Ebola and leishmaniasis. Image Alliance via Getty Images

In Marburg patients, symptoms typically begin two to 21 days after exposure. Symptoms may initially appear flu-like, but may eventually progress to liver failure, bleeding, and multiple organ dysfunction.

  • Fever
  • Headache
  • chills
  • Muscle, chest and joint pain
  • Sore throat
  • fatigue
  • Loss of appetite
  • Rash with flat and raised bumps, often on the trunk
  • Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
  • Unexplained bleeding

Treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved a vaccine or treatment for Marburg.

Early supportive care, including rest, hydration, control of oxygen status and blood pressure, and treatment of secondary infections can improve the chances of survival.

Death usually occurs eight to nine days after symptoms begin and involves severe blood loss and shock.

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