Medical Keywords - Everything you need to know about health.

Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever - Nasty but Thankfully Rare

Marburg hemorrhagic fever aka Marburg virus is quite a nasty disease. It is related to the Ebola virus, an equally deadly illness and both diseases belong to the filovirus family. Marburg is one of the most devastating of the filoviruses because of the severe bleeding that can occur, thus the Marburg hemorrhagic fever name. Most primates, including monkeys and humans can contract the disease.

It was 1967 when this disease was discovered when several lab workers in Marburg became ill with the virus along with several people in cities with the same lab. It turned out that some monkeys from Africa used for research purposes transmitted the virus to these workers.

Marburg hemorrhagic fever is still somewhat of a mysterious disease because only intermittent cases of it have been reported in the decades since its discovery. For the most part, Africa is the primary source of the infection, with Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda with the most reported cases, although it can be found continent-wide.

Animals carry the virus that causes Marburg but researchers are still not entirely certain which animal is the main host. It is known that primates like monkeys contract the disease, but which animals transmit it to them? Also not known is how the infected animals pass along Marburg to humans. What is known is how humans pass the virus to each other. Typically a swap of bodily fluids is the answer - blood transfusions, sharing needles, kissing sex and even inhaling droplets from infected people.

Symptoms of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever

After exposure to the virus, it takes 4 to 10 days for symptoms to appear. These symptoms include chills, headache, fever, muscle aches and pain, vomiting, nausea and stomach or chest pain. A rash with both raised and flat lesion areas may appear about 3 to 5 days after onset of other symptoms.

If the disease progresses beyond these symptoms, you can expect jaundice (yellowing of the skin), inflammation of the pancreas, delirium and confusion. A drop in blood pressure can cause shock and organ failure could follow. About 25% of people who contract Marburg hemorrhagic fever die.

Diagnosis can be difficult at first because the first symptoms that present themselves often resemble other illnesses and disease. Special blood tests and testing of other body fluids are necessary to definitively diagnose this viral disease.

Unfortunately, there is no special treatment for Marburg as no cure exists for any viruses. Medical care should be given to support the symptoms of the disease and hospitalization is almost always necessary. Intravenous fluids would be needed to maintain hydration and electrolyte levels and blood clotting medications may be necessary to halt hemorrhaging.

If you plan to travel to any areas in Africa where Marburg has occurred, you will want to be very careful to steer clear of the local wildlife from primates to rodents. In addition, stay in urban areas and steer clear of rural places where illness is prevalent. Avoid situations where you in are close enough contact to the local people to capture any droplets from sneezing, coughing or even talking. These are really the only ways to protect you as a visitor there.