The Marburg Virus
By Debra Mlambo
What is the Marburg Virus?
- Marburg part of the filovirus family. The five species of Ebola virus are the only other known members of the filovirus family.
- First recognized in 1967---when outbreaks began to occure in labs in the following cities.( Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany and in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia)
- During this period 31 people became ill--first the lab workers, then the nurses or doctors that helped them out and the the family members. --7 people died
- These people who were infected had been exposed to African Green Monkeys, or their tissues while conducting research.
- The Marburg Virus is a virus that causes hemorrhaging fevers
- The Marburg virus is a virus that can be passed along from animals to humans (Zoonotic)
Marburg virions are 80 nm in diameter and average approximately 800 nm in length, although length can vary up to 14,000 nm.
The Marburg virus is identical to Ebola in form and structure. But it is antigenically distinct from Ebola (meaning that it stimulates the production of different antibodies). Meaning that the virus can create different antigens confusing your immune system?
The virus is categorized as a bio safety level 4 agent because of how extreme it is as well as the lack of a vaccine or antiviral drug.
Rousettus aegyptiacus----African Fruit Bat
- About 6 inches long but there wings spread out to about 2 feet
- Fruit bats found in Africa, India, and Pakistan
- You can find these bats in lowland, mountains and anywhere else that will host them
- A group of scientist tested 1100 bats representing 10 species
- Of the ten only one species had igG antibodies in their sera( Sera is clear yellowish fluid that separates from the clot in blood)
- These bats had been in mines and caves for a year before they had been tested
- This virus is completely dependent on this host to survive.
How can I get the Marburg Virus?
Its all about the poop!
- unprotected contact with bat feces or in general smelling it!
- After its in a human all it takes is person to person contact such as direct contact with their fluids--saliva, blood, anything!
- Touching equipment with their infected blood or tissue
Symptoms
- The Marburg virus causes hemorrhagic fevers
- Hemorrhagic fevers are illnesses marked by bleeding (hemorrhage), organ failure
- fever, chills, headache,body aches
- Around the fifth day you really start to feel like death -- rash, nausea, vomiting, chest pain begins occur, sore throat, abdominal pain, AND FREAKING diarrhea
- Increasingly sever symptoms --Jaundice(yellowing of the skin or whites of eyes.
- Your pancreas inflates
- Severe weight loss occurs, delirium, shock, liver failure
- massive hemorrhaging, and multi-organ dysfunction.
Severe Case
Massive hemorrhaging
- vascular system is damaged
- The body's way of controlling itself is damaged
- Once those symptoms occur, bleeding starts--but the bleeding is never actually life threatening.
- Viruses that cause Hemorrhagic fevers are zoonotic
Jaundice
- Causes your skin and the whites of your eyes to turn yellow.
- Too much bilirubin causes jaundice. Bilirubin is a yellow chemical in hemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen in your red blood cells. As red blood cells break down, your body builds new cells to replace them. The old ones are processed by the liver. If the liver cannot handle the blood cells as they break down, bilirubin builds up in the body and your skin may look yellow.
Prevention of Marburg
- Avoid fruit bats
- Avoid any non-human primates in Central Africa
- wearing of protective gowns, gloves, and masks
- placing the infected individual in strict isolation
- And sterilization or proper disposal of needles, equipment, and their excretions aka poop, urine, ect.
Citations
- "Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever (Marburg HF)." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
- http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/marburg
- "Ebola Virus and Marburg Virus." Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015
- http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/IGG
- http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/vhf.htm