Marburg hemorrhagic fever (also referred to as Marburg virus disease) is a rare, exotic viral disease that affects both humans and nonhuman primates. The reservoir hosts of Marburg virus are African (or Egyptian) fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus), although bats infected with the virus do not show symptoms of any illness. For the first time, investigators have discovered the presence of the contagious Marburg virus in fruit bats in West Africa—specifically Sierra Leone. Other outbreaks of Marburg hemorrhagic fever have occurred in Africa in the past, leading to mortality rates of up to 88% in infected individuals, so the appearance of this deadly virus in West Africa is a troublesome event. In particular, the lethal outbreak of Ebola virus in 2013–2016 that killed more than 11,000 individuals occurred in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. Epidemiologists are concerned that any outbreak of Marburg virus disease in West Africa could overburden the already weakened health care systems of the aforementioned countries. See also: Africa; Chiroptera; Ebola virus; Ebola virus outbreak; Epidemiology; Exotic viral diseases; Virus
The Marburg virus is an animal-borne ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus belonging to the filovirus family, which also contains all five of the known species of Ebola virus. Previously, Marburg virus has been detected in fruits bats living in sub-Saharan Africa—predominantly Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Kenya, South Africa, and Gabon. However, these locations are quite distant from West Africa; for example, Gabon is located more than 2575 km (1600 mi) away from Sierra Leone. Thus, the discovery of the Marburg virus in West Africa is a possible early indication of the spread and transmission of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in new locations. As of 2019, no human cases of Marburg virus disease have been reported in West Africa, but the risk of disease contraction is great because people can acquire the disease through contact with, or bites from, infected animals or via consumption of the bats themselves (bats are a common food in certain locations in Africa) or of fruit contaminated by the feces, saliva, or urine of bats. See also: Animal virus; Disease ecology; Ribonucleic acid (RNA); Virus classification
Continued surveillance and vigilance are necessary to detect and prevent possible transmission of the Marburg virus in West Africa. In addition, limited numbers of cases of Ebola disease still flare up in this region. As such, scientists are working hard to prevent a full-blown Marburg virus epidemic, especially if there is also the chance of this being compounded by a resumption of Ebola disease on the scale of its previous outbreak. As yet, there is no vaccine for Marburg virus disease, but active work in the areas of vaccination and prevention continues. See also: Epidemic; Public health; Vaccination