Marburg virus disease is a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever identified in 1967 after outbreaks in Germany and Yugoslavia from infected monkeys imported from Uganda. It causes sudden onset of high fever, severe headache, and malaise. Between 5-7 days, hemorrhagic manifestations and bleeding occur in severe cases, with fatality rates varying from 25% to over 80% depending on the outbreak. The virus is transmitted through contact with infected individuals or their bodily fluids and can be shed in semen for months. While its natural reservoir is unknown, bats have been suspected. There is no vaccine or specific treatment, though supportive care is provided for symptoms.

1. Topic : Marburg Fever
Name : Vihari Vichakshana Rajaguru
Group : No 32
2nd year 2nd semester
1

2. Introduction
• Marburg virus disease (MVD)
(formerly known as Marburg
hemorrhagic fever) was first
identified in 1967 during epidemics
in Marburg and Frankfurt in
Germany and Belgrade in the former
Yugoslavia from importation of
infected monkeys from Uganda.
• MVD is a severe and highly fatal
disease caused by a virus from the
same family as the one that causes
Ebola virus disease. These viruses
are among the most virulent
pathogens known to infect humans.
Both diseases are rare, but have a
capacity to cause dramatic
outbreaks with high fatality. 2

3. History
• Illness caused by Marburg virus
begins abruptly, with severe
headache and severe malaise.
Many patients develop severe
hemorrhagic manifestations
between days 5 and 7, and fatal
cases usually have some form of
bleeding, often from multiple
sites.
• Case fatality rates have varied
greatly, from 25% in the initial
laboratory-associated outbreak
in 1967, to more than 80% in
the Democratic Republic of
Congo from 1998-2000 and the
outbreak in Angola in 2005.
3

4. Spread of the Marburg Virus
4

5. General Characteristics
5
• Order : Mononegavirales
• Family : Filoviradae
• Genus : Marburgvirus
• Species : Marburg
marburgvirus
• Synonyms : Marburg
disease, Marburg
hemorrhagic fever, African
hemorrhagic fever, and
green monkey disease.
( it has the same structural properties
as the Ebola virus)

6. Morphology
• Marburg is an enveloped, single-stranded,
unsegmented, negative-sense RNA virus.
• It has the filamentous structure, can appear shaped like
a U, a 6, or spiraled like a snail; and can sometimes be
branched.
• They tend to include long noncoding regions at their 3'
and/or 5' ends, which probably contributes to the
stability of the viral transcript.
• The viral fragment is pleomorphic.
• Complexed with the proteins NP, VP35, VP30, and L.
6

7. PATHOGENICITY/TOXICITY
• A rare, severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and non-
human primates characterized by a sudden onset with
high fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and maculopapular
rash, possibly followed by vomiting, chest pain, sore
throat, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
• Symptoms become increasingly severe and may include
inflammation of the pancreas, jaundice, severe weight
loss, delirium, shock, liver failure, massive hemorrhage,
and multi-organ dysfunction. Marburg disease has a
fatality rate of approximately 25 %.
7

8. Vector
• The natural reservoir for the virus is
unknown. Epidemiologists have tested bats,
monkeys, spiders and ticks for the virus, but
were not able to acquire definitive
data. Common factors indicate that the
natural reservoir is part of rural Africa.
8
• Secondary spread of the
disease is via contact with
infected persons or contact
with blood, secretions, or
excretions of infected
persons. The virus may
continue to be shed in the
patient's semen for up to 3-
4 months after
illness. Sexual transmission
of the disease did occur in
one instance in Germany.

9. Mechanism
• As with Ebola, the exact mechanism of Marburg is
unknown. However, virion surface spikes are made soley of
large glycoprotein. It is presumed that, as with other
negative-strand RNA viruses, these surface spikes bind to
receptors on the host cell and mediate entry into susceptible
cells.
• The Marburg virus has 22 potential N-linked glycosylation
sites on its surface. Viral replication takes place in the
cytoplasm, and envelopment is the result of budding
preformed nucleocapsids. Systemically, the virus involves the
liver, lymphoid organs, and kidneys.
• Incubation period : Usually 5-7 days, but can range from 3-10
days.
9

10. 10
How Ebola and Marburg viruses battle the immune system

11. Symptoms
• Fever / Severe headache
• Joint and muscle aches
• Chills /Weakness
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Diarrhea (may be bloody)
• Red eyes.
• Raised rash.
• Chest pain and cough.
• Stomach pain.
• Severe weight loss.
• Bleeding, usually from the eyes, and bruising
(people near death may bleed from other orifices,
such as ears, nose and rectum) 11

12. Diagnosis
• For patients presenting with Marburg
symptoms, initial possible diagnoses can
include malaria and tyhpoid fever.
• As with Ebola, diagnosis of Marburg virus is
confirmed by IgG ELISA, although IgM ELISA can
be used to distinguish acute infections from old
infections. IFA results can be misleading.
• Electron microscopy is useful in diagnosing
filovirus infection, but does not help distinguish
Marburg from Ebola.
12

13. • Laboratory findings include:
- Maculopapular rash, which is distinctive of Marburg,
Ebola, dengue, and lassa.
- Reduction in the number of lymphocytes
(lymphopenia) and increased number of neutrophilic
leukocytes (neutrophilia).
- Thrombocytopenia and abnormal platelet
aggregation.
- Serum enzyme levels are elevated; AST is usually
higher than ALT.
- Alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin levels are usually
normal or only mildly elevated.
• Marburg virus can be clearly diagnosed from specimens
of deceased patients via immunohistochemistry, virus
isolation, or PCR (polymerase chain reaction) of blood or
tissue specimens.
13

14. Treatment & prevention
• Supportive therapy (there is no specific treatment for
Marburg hemorrhagic fever. However, the virus itself is
sensitive to lipid solvents, detergents, commercial
hypochlorite disinfectants, and phenolic disinfectants. The
virus can also be destroyed by ultraviolet and gamma
radiation.
• Vaccine. None. As with exposure to other filoviruses,
exposure to Marburg does not confer subsequent
immunity. The antibody response in convalescent patients
does not neutralize or protect against subsequent
infection by Marburg virus.
14

15. References :
i. http://www.cdc.gov/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2009). Imported case
of Marburg hemorrhagic fever - Colorado, 2008. MMWR.Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report, 58 (49), 1377-1381.
ii. Control of Communicable Diseases Manual (18th ed., pp. 180-182).
Washington, D.C.: American Public Health Association.
iii. World Health Organization. (2005). WHO update on current reported
Marburg cases in Angola. Retrieved 4/30, 2010 .
iv. Bausch, D. G., Sprecher, A. G., Jeffs, B., & Boumandouki, P. (2008).
Treatment of Marburg and Ebola hemorrhagic fevers: a strategy for
testing new drugs and vaccines under outbreak conditions. Antiviral
Research, 78 (1), 150-161.
15

16. Thank you !
16