Marburg virus can infect humans and cause death. The virus comes from the same family as the Ebola virus, which is filovirus. According to WHO, the death rate of diseases caused by this virus reaches 24-88 percent.
Initially, the virus that spread on the African continent was signaled to come from a green monkey type Of African monkey. Later, the Marburg virus was also found in fruit bats of the rousettus aegyptiacus type.
Marburg virus Definition
Marburg virus is a species of virus in the Filoviridae family that causes Marburg disease in humans and animals.
The disease is zoonotic.
The name Marburg comes from the name of a city in Germany.
The virus is called Marburg because in this city, it was first discovered in 1967, found a disease that attacks veterinarians and laboratory technicians who are preparing cell breeds of African green macaques (cercopithecus aethiops).
The cell culture will be used as a medium to produce human polio vaccine.
The green ape was obtained from a forest in Uganda, Africa.
After arriving in Germany, some of the green apes showed symptoms of dengue fever, then died.
After a few days, as many as 25 people working in the laboratory were sick with symptoms of dengue fever.
At about the same time, in Belgrado, Yugoslavia, the same disease occurred in 6 people working in similar laboratories.
Seven of the 31 people (in Germany and Yugoslavia) who contracted Marburg hemorrhagic fever eventually died.
After discovering in Germany and Yugoslavia, Marburg disease was only discovered in Africa, namely in Johannesburg (1975) in 3 people, Uganda (1980), and Congo (1999) in 76 people, 56 of whom died.
Under an electron microscope, the Marburg virus looks like a short thread, sometimes curved at one end forming the number 6 or 9.
Viruses shaped like threads, included in the family Filoviridae (filo = filaments/ threads)
The Marburg virus spread
The spread of this virus is greatest in African regions such as Kenya, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. While those brought to Europe, such as Yugoslavia and Germany come from immigration animals as well as people who travel from endemic regions.
Marburg virus infection process
Rousettus bats store Marburg virus in their saliva, urine, and feces. When a human makes direct contact or consumes contaminated fruit, it can become infected.
Once infected, the Marburg virus can be transmitted from human to human. You can be infected with this virus through direct contact with blood, mucus, organs, or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
In addition, Marburg virus infection can also spread by touch with surfaces that have been contaminated with the bodily fluids of an infected person, such as clothing or a bed.
The ease of this transmission process causes many cases of health workers who are infected while treating Marburg disease patients due to close contact. The incubation period of Marburg virus varies, but generally ranges from 2-21 days.
Marburg Virus Causes
The main cause of this disease is the Marburg virus. This virus is still a family with the virus that causes Ebola. But until now, it is not known how this virus can be transmitted from host animals to humans. In 2 cases in 2008, transmission came from infected bat feces.
After the initial crossing of the virus from the host animal to a human, transmission occurs through person-to-person contact. This can happen in several ways: direct contact with droplets from an infected person, and contact with appliances and other contaminating objects with blood or infectious tissue.
In the case of the 1967 outbreak, patients were infected from green monkeys after coming into direct contact through body fluids or through the monkey’s cell culture in the laboratory.
The spread of the virus between humans can occur in close environments or direct contact, for example, the person caring will be infected from the patient he is treating.
Marburg Virus Symptoms
The virus infects humans with an incubation period of 5-10 days. Usually infected humans will rarely be detected because the symptoms are almost similar to malaria or dengue fever.
However, on the fifth day or after the symptoms will get worse, which is characterized by nausea, vomiting, chest pain to diarrhea and if not treated immediately this virus can cause fatal problems in organs such as liver failure, inflammation of the liver, to death.
Marburg Virus Treatment
There is currently no specific treatment for diseases caused by the Marburg virus. The most likely is to optimize supportive treatment in hospitals that aim to:
- Balancing body fluids and electrolytes
- Maintain oxygen and blood pressure levels
- Replacing lost blood and blood clotting causative factors
- Treatment for complications.
Some treatments such as products for blood, immune therapy and drug therapy are currently under review for use in the treatment of this disease.
Marburg Virus Prevention
To date, effective prevention of the Marburg virus has still not been well defined because transmission from wild animals to humans is still being studied further.
However, you can try to prevent this disease by avoiding fruit bats and sick primates in central Africa.
Meanwhile, for the spread between humans can be done by preventing direct contact with people with the Marburg virus disease.
That’s the explanation of the deadly Marburg virus. Always take care when you are in foreign territory.
