An infectious disease caused by a Filovirus; a virus of the same family as the Ebola virus. It is a very rare disease, with cases described in sub-Saharan Central and West Africa.
It is transmitted by contact with blood or fluids of other infected persons. It can also be transmitted by contact with animals, such as bats and/or monkeys.
It initially manifests with nonspecific symptoms such as high fever, chills, severe fatigue and headache. They may be accompanied by back pain, muscle pain, difficulty swallowing, stomach pain, vomiting, loss of appetite and diarrhea. The infection progresses rapidly, causing bleeding (gums, nose, anus, etc.) which can lead to hemorrhagic shock, organ failure and death of the infected person.
The disease should be suspected when questioning a person with symptoms, who may have been in contact with an infected patient or who may have been bitten by a bat. Anemia, decreased white blood cells, decreased clotting factors and platelets may be detected in a blood test. It will be confirmed after detecting specific RNA sequences of the virus in blood.
There is no specific treatment. Life support measures should be initiated as soon as possible to control the hemorrhagic shock phase. At the moment there is no vaccine and those that exist for the Ebola virus are not effective.
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- Marburg virus disease. World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/marburg-virus-disease. (Accessed 2023).
