Marburg fever, caused by the Marburg virus, is a severe hemorrhagic disease that begins with malaise and fever and can then lead to multiple organ failure with gastrointestinal symptoms, shock and bleeding.
The disease was mostly diagnosed in small outbreaks of less than 50 cases in Central Africa. A major wave of illness occurred in Angola in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Here more than 250 cases were detected.
The incubation period is about 8 days on average, and ends with the appearance of various nonspecific symptoms, such as malaise, fever, chest pain, headache, as well as myalgia and arthralgia. Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and sometimes maculopapular rashes, follow swiftly. Serious illnesses include bleeding, neurological symptoms, shock and multiple organ failure. Many patients suffer from mild to moderate leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, as well as disseminated intravascular coagulation.
Viral haemorrhagic fevers can be triggered by 25 different viruses. Like the Ebola virus, the Marburg virus belongs to the family Filoviridae. It is believed that the pathogen is transmitted by the unconscious contact with the excrement or saliva of fruit bats. Risk factors include entering caves that are inhabited by fruit bats, as well as contact with monkeys that came into contact with fruit bats. Human-to-human viral transmission occurs through direct contact with infected blood or body fluids.
The lethality of the affected ones is over 80%. However, it can be said that with a disease wave in Europe triggered by imported monkeys, the lethality was only 22%. Factors that adversely affect mortality include shock, bleeding, neurological symptoms, high levels of aspartate aminotransferase, high viremia and pregnancy. While patients usually do not sustain long-term damage, convalescence can take up to a year.