Marburg is part of the filovirus family that also includes the Ebola virus.
The WHO held an emergency meeting after nine people died from the an outbreak of the Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea. It causes infection as deadly as Ebola, and the outbreak-hit province has been placed under quarantine.
Here are five facts on Marburg and the infection it causes:
- According to WHO, Marburg virus disease is a highly virulent disease that causes haemorrhagic fever, with a fatality ratio of up to 88 per cent. The UN body has increased its epidemiological surveillance after the outbreak was reported in the African country.
- It is part of the filovirus family that also includes the Ebola virus, which has caused havoc in several previous outbreaks in Africa. The natural host of the Marburg virus is the African fruit bat, which carries the virus but does not fall sick from it.
- The Marburg virus can spread from infected animals, including bats. The viral illness hits sufferers suddenly, and its symptoms include high fever, internal and external bleeding and severe headaches.
- Once an individual is infected with the virus, Marburg can spread through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.
- No treatment or vaccine exists for Marburg, but potential treatments, including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies, as well as early candidate vaccines are being evaluated, according to WHO.
