The Threat of Marburg Virus Disease in West Africa: Implications for Public Health Control in Nigeria
Abstract
Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a rare but severe haemorrhagic fever caused by Marburg virus (MARV), a filamentous, non-segmented, single-stranded negative-sense RNA virus which together with Ebola virus (EBOV) are the sole members of the genus Filovirus in the family Filoviridae1. MARV was first discovered during epidemics in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, and in Belgrade, Serbia's capital city in 1967 and its source was traced to African green monkeys imported from Uganda2,3. Despite the significant threat that MARV poses to human and animal health, virulent and pathogenic factors are not completely understood4. All six strains of MARV (Musoke, Ratayczak, Popp, Voege, Ozolin and Marburg Ravn) are known to be highly pathogenic5. The case fatality rate (CFR) varied between 23-90% in past epidemics depending on the virus strain and early diagnosis.
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