Marburg virus disease

Marburg virus disease

 [mahr´boork]

a severe, often fatal, type of hemorrhagic fever first reported in Marburg, Germany, among laboratory workers exposed to African green monkeys.

Mar·burg dis·ease

infection with an unusual rhabdovirus composed of RNA and lipid, tentatively assigned to the family of Filoviridae. Virus is "pantropic" and affects most organ systems. The disease, characterized by a prominent rash and hemorrhages in many organs, is often fatal. First seen among laboratory workers in Marburg, Germany, exposed to African green monkeys. Some interhuman spread has been observed. Attempts to isolate virus should be done only in high-security laboratories.

Synonym(s): Marburg virus disease

Marburg virus disease

[mär′bərg]

a severe febrile viral disease characterized by rash, hepatitis, pancreatitis, and severe GI hemorrhages. The disease is caused by the Marburg virus, a member of the Filoviridae family, which also includes the Ebola virus. An epidemic in Marburg, Germany, in 1967 was apparently caused by infected imported African green monkeys. The disease may be transmitted to hospital personnel by improper handling of contaminated needles or from hemorrhagic lesions of patients. The diagnosis is made through serological abnormalities. There is no effective treatment. Also called hemorrhagic fever. See also Ebola virus disease.

A rare viral haemorrhagic fever which occurs in miniclusters in Europe and Africa following direct contact with monkey tissue, blood or human serum infected with the Marburg virus.
Incubation 5-9 days; otherwise like Argentine or Bolivian hemorrhagic fever—headaches, fever, diarrhoea, myalgias, rash, pharyngitis, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, hemorrhage, renal failure
Mortality 7 of the 31 original Marburg cohort died

Mar·burg dis·ease

(mahr'bĕrg di-zēz')

Infection caused by a virus of the order Mononegavirales and the family Filoviridae and of the genus Marburg. The virus is "pantropic" and affects most organ systems. The disease is characterized by a prominent rash and hemorrhages in many organs and is often fatal. It was first seen in Marburg, Germany in 1967, among laboratory workers exposed to African green monkeys. Some person-to-person spread has been observed. Attempts to isolate the virus should be done only in high-security laboratories.
See also: Marburg virus
Synonym(s): Marburg virus disease.