The Marburg virus, a non-segmented, negative-strand RNA virus of family Filoviridae, is a causative agent of Marburg Virus Disease, an extremely dangerous/virulent endemic disease. Since its first citing almost 50 years ago, in Marburg and Frankfurt, the condition has continued to emerge and re-emerge in some parts of the world, specifically Central Africa, leaving behind a high number of deaths, a fatality rate of about 27 percent. One reason the features that make the virus so deadly is their ability to interfere with the immune system's defense. Despite the much attention and research into the virus by scientists around the world, no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine against the virus has been developed yet. Scientists are currently working on vaccines to protect people from the virus, some of the outcomes have proved promising, but further tests are required. Deeper insights into the molecular biology, immunology, and pathogens of this virus are therefore crucial in the assistance to develop the urgently needed deliverables in developing a vaccine or a cure. The paper highlights the consequences of the virus on individuals, some of the known signs and symptoms, the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention techniques.
Consequences
This virus lives in animals such as African monkeys, chimps, pigs, and even fruit bats (Kasper & Harrison, 2005). Humans contract the viruses from infected animals, through eating infected animal meat, having blood contacts with the animals, or by coming into touch with the feces and urines of these animals. After the transmission from animals to humans, the viruses is transmittable to humans through contact with body fluids or contaminated needles. Some of the worst Marburg epidemics have taken place as a result of failure to sterilize injection equipment between users. Typically, infected people do not become contagious until they develop symptoms, especially when they start bleeding; that explains why often, the ones to be first infected are either the relatives of the infected persons or medical professionals who fail to use masks and gloves when providing health care. The other group at high risk of contaminating the virus include are individuals who prepare the deceased for burials; bodies of people who die of Marburg hemorrhagic fever remain contagious even after death (Klenk & Feldmann, 2004).
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The result for most infected person cases of Marburg virus disease is death. The most common cause of mortality among the patients infected with the virus is Hemorrhage Fever where an individual bleeds to death. The other cause of deaths has to do with the weakened immunity system that comes as a result of infection of the disease. The virus interferes with one’s immunity system, and just like with the case of HIV/AIDS; the body gets attacked by these opportunistic diseases that attack as a result of reduced white body cells in the blood (Staff, n.d.). These common diseases such as flu have the capability to kill a patient whose immune system is already weak from defending itself against the deadly pathogen, Marburg virus. The other situations that lead to death as a result of the disease, is the failure of multiple body organs.
Only a few of the patients infected with the Marburg virus disease completely recover and survive death. Scientists are yet to figure out why some people recover whereas some do not. For those fortunate enough to survive, recovery is very slow. A case study story is told of a young man who got infected by the virus during a polio treatment and completely recovered after fifteen years. The virus remains in the body for several weeks; hence, regaining weight and strength may take months (Staff, n.d.).
Some of the consequences the survivors face in their recovery process includes:
- Sensory changes
- Hair loss
- General body weakness/ fatigue
- Headaches
- Liver inflammation
- Eye inflammation
- Testicular inflammation
Signs and symptoms
Marburg virus is related to Ebola in many ways. Other than both being in the same family, Filoviridae, they also bear similar symptoms, most significantly, the hemorrhagic fever, a condition marked severe bleeding (hemorrhage), from all body openings; ears, eyes, nose and even rectum (Klenk & Feldmann, 2004). This condition ultimately leads to death, after a short period. The other symptoms and signs associated with this virus include:
- Fever
- Severe headache
- Joint and muscle ache
- Chills
- Weakness
These symptoms frequently occur at the early stages of the infection and most people confuse it with common diseases such as malaria and typhoid. As time goes by and the virus infection advances, symptoms and signs become progressively severe and may include:
- Coughs and chest pain
- Stomach pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea (In some cases bloody)
- Red eyes
- Internal bleeding
- Hemorrhage, mostly from the eyes (Klenk & Feldmann, 2004).
The final stage of the infection is usually characterized by bleeding from all the other orifices such as ears, nose, and rectum. At this point, body organs fail and in many cases, death.
Test and diagnosis
The testing and diagnosis of the Marburg virus is still a challenge to most medical institutions as a big percentage of public health laboratories are not equipped for the diagnosis of the infection. The Marburg virus disease is challenging to diagnose during the early stages, as the initial signs and symptoms mimic those of other diseases such as typhoid and malaria. If correctly diagnosed by the medical professionals, those laboratories, which are able to perform the required tests, do so by measuring the host-specific immune responses to the infection and detection of viral particles. The specific blood tests to identify the virus include Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (Kasper & Harrison, 2005).
Treatment and prevention
There are not yet antiviral medications that scientists have proved useful in treating infection with the virus. One reason the key factors that make the virus so deadly is their ability to interfere with the immune system's defense. Marburg virus weakens the immune system of the body, making it prone to other infections and diseases. Basically, medical and health care providers just provide support for the patients by:
- Replacing lost fluids, including blood, and electrolytes.
- Maintenance of blood pressure
- Providing oxygen as required
- Treating other infections that develop
Ultimately, prevention is always better than cure, which in our case is non-existent. Prevention focuses on avoiding contamination of the virus. The following precautions can prevent contact and spread of Marburg virus:
- Stay away from areas prone to outbreaks.
- Cooking meat more carefully.
- Avoid contact with infected persons. If you have to care for them, ensure you use protective gear.
- Leave handling of bodies to the specially trained teams.
- Frequent hand washing and sanitizing.
- Following infection control protocols of isolating the infected from others (Kasper & Harrison, 2005).
The Marburg virus remains a big challenge to the world. Much efforts by the government and scientists have been put into play to ensure a reduction in fatality rates of the disease and conditions caused by the virus. For instance, public institutions like The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is an example of the facilities that have been put up to offer sensitive and quantitative laboratory diagnosis for the Filovirus infections (Staff, n.d.). Scientists on the other hand, are in their quest, to find a vaccination or antiviral treatment for the virus. So far they have made promising results, although further tests and experiments are still required to verify these procedures; there is at least some light at the end of the tunnel.
References
Kasper, D. L., & Harrison, T. R. (2005). Harrison's principles of internal medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division.
Klenk, H., & Feldmann, H. (2004). Ebola and Marburg viruses: Molecular and cellular biology. Wymondham, U.K.: Horizon Bioscience.
Staff, B. M. (n.d.). Ebola virus and Marburg virus. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ebola-virus/basics/definition/con-20031241
