Marburg Virus

The Marburg virus disease is a serious infection that can be fatal to people. Community people can band together to address the Marburg virus threat, thereby reducing outbreaks through social mobilization, surveillance, and contact tracing. 1967 saw the first reports of the Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Frankfurt and Belgrade (Warren 12). The illness is thought to have characteristics and traits in common with the Ebola virus. The two viruses appear to be members of the Filovoridae family. The main distinction is that they are brought on by various viruses. Both conditions are rate with an increased potential to cause outbreaks resulting to great fatality rates.
Marburg virus is a fever virus with hemorrhagic capabilities. The virus belongs in the Filoviridae family. It is categorized under the Marburg marburgvirus species. Among humans the Marburg virus is observed as viral hemorrhagic fever. The Marburg virus is transmitted from fruit bats. Apparently, the virus is hosted by rousettus aegyptiacus. After its transmission, the disease is spread through a human-human transmission process. The lifecycle of the virus is initiated with the virion attachment to the surface of specific cell receptors. Afterwards a virion envelope infusion with the cellular membranes takes place before the virus’ nucleocapsid is released to the cytosol (Nyakarahuka 12).

Marburg virus grows in unhygienic environment characterized by high temperatures and humidity. May and August are regarded as the best breeding seasons for the virus. The virus will breed near goldmines or in places with similar conditions. Fatalities arising from the outbreak of Marburg virus are estimated at 90% (Warren 14). The virus will affect people from both genders on the same scale without any discrimination as presented in the table below.

Table 1: Prevalence rates of Marburg virus in men and women





Modes of Transmission

It is not clear how the Marburg virus is first transmitted from its animal host to the human system. Despite this, one can derive that coming in contact with infected aerosols or bats results to the spread of the condition. The presented derivative originates from fact that 2 tourists contacted the virus in Uganda in 2008 after they came into unprotected contact with infected bats (Weiwei et al. 8).

After the virus crosses over to the human system, the transmission takes place further through human to human to contact. The presented process can be achieved in various ways. For instance, coming into contact with the body fluids of an infected individual would aid in the transmission of the disease. Moreover, touching infected body tissues or blood would result to the spread of the condition among humans. The chart below provides important information about the Marburg virus. Research shows that persons who have come in contact with the infected nonhuman primates resulted to an outbreak of the condition (Warren 12). Close environments and direct contacts favor the spread of the condition. Such outbreaks can start in hospitals or homes, thus constituting nosocomial transmission. The picture below outlines African fruit bats around a cave as observed in the Western part of Uganda. The graph below provides an indication of the onset of the symptoms after one contract the virus.

Graph: Onset of symptoms



Chart: Marburg Virus Chart



Picture: African Fruit bats



Marburg Virus and the hunting season

The Marburg virus hunting season is spread by coming in contact with infected tissue, blood, or fluids from none primate bodies. The weather significantly affects the movement of animals which increases the chances that they will come into contact with humans, therefore, resulting to the spread of the Marburg virus. Rainfall seasons will always influence the rate of the outbreak of the condition across the globe. Apparently, filoviruses will be limited in regions known to have limited rainfall. The fact that animals will always migrate based on seasonal changes means that the chances of the spread of the virus fluctuates based on seasonal changes. During dry seasons, the animals will always move in search of moisture hence increasing the chances that they will interact with the humans causing a spread of the virus.

When the humans come in contact with the tissue or blood of the infected animals, the virion attaches itself to the surface of specific cell receptors which furthers its development process. Afterwards the life cycle continues before the patient begins showing symptoms of the disease. Evidently, the symptoms will begin to show after an incubation period of approximately five to ten days. At this point, the infected individual shows symptoms such as chills, fever, and headaches. As the lifecycle progresses, the patient start showing more symptoms such as maculopapular rash on the stomach and chest. Other common symptoms include vomiting, nausea, sore throat, chest pains, and diarrhea among others. Severe symptoms are seen with the advancement of the condition such as jaundice, weight loss, liver failure and even shock. The fatality rate associated with Marburg virus is extremely high as it is estimated at 23-90% (Nyakarahuka et al. 18). However, providing a diagnosis can be difficult since the condition shares similar symptoms to health concerns such as Malaria and typhoid.



Works Cited

Nyakarahuka L, Ayebare S, Mosomtai G, Kankya C, Lutwama J, Mwiine FN, and Skjerve "Knowledge and Attitude Towards Ebola and Marburg Virus Diseases in Uganda Using Quantitative and Participatory Epidemiology Techniques." Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 11, no. 9, 11 Sept. 2017, pp. 1-20. 

Warren, Travis K. "Delayed Time-To-Treatment of an Antisense Morpholino Oligomer Is Effective against Lethal Marburg Virus Infection in Cynomolgus Macaques." Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 10, no. 2, 22 Feb. 2016, pp. 1-18.

Weiwei, Gai. "Marburg Virus-Like Particles by Coexpression of Glycoprotein and Matrix Protein in Insect Cells Induces Immune Responses in Mice." Virology Journal, vol. 14, 25 Oct. 2017, pp. 1-11.