Marburg hemorrhagic fever (patient information)

Marburg hemorrhagic fever
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
Diagnosis
When to seek urgent medical care?
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Marburg hemorrhagic fever?
Prevention
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:

What are the Symptoms of Marburg hemorrhagic fever?

Signs and symptoms of Marburg hemorrhagic fever share similarities with other infectious diseases such as malaria or typhoid fever. Arrivinng at the diagnosis may be difficult if only one case is involved.

• Symptoms that appear after an incubation period of 5-10 days
  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Headache
  • Myalgia
• Symptoms that appear after 5th day of onset of symptoms
  • Maculopapular rash prominent on the trunk (chest, back, stomach)
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Chest pain
  • Sore throat
  • Abdominal pain
  • Diarrhea
• Symptoms become increasingly severe may include:
  • Jaundice
  • Inflammation of the pancreas
  • Severe weight loss
  • Delirium
  • Shock
  • Liver failure
  • Massive hemorrhaging
  • Multi-organ dysfunction

What Causes Marburg hemorrhagic fever?

• Marburg hemorrhagic fever is caused by Marburg virus. It is a hemorrhagic fever virus of the Filoviridae family of viruses and a member of the species Marburg marburgvirus, genus Marburgvirus. Marburg virus (MARV) causes Marburg virus disease in humans and nonhuman primates, a form of viral hemorrhagic fever. The virus is considered to be extremely dangerous.

Who is at Highest Risk?

• Close contacts such as family members and hospital staff who haven't used proper barrier nursing techniques
• Veterinarians and laboratory or quarantine facility workers handling non-human primates from Africa
• Travelers visiting endemic regions in Africa, including Uganda and other parts of central Africa, and have contact with fruit bats, or enter caves or mines inhabited by fruit bats.

Diagnosis

• Diagnosis may be established by the following tests to confirm a case of Marburg hemorrhagic fever within a few days of onset of symptoms:
  • Antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
  • Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
  • IgM-capture ELISA
• For persons later in the course of disease or after recovery testing by IgG-capture ELISA is preferred.
• Virus isolation may also be done but with extreme caution and well-equipped facility.
• In case of deceased patients, laboratory techniques such as immunohistochemistry, virus isolation, or PCR of blood or tissue specimens may be performed in order to confirm the cause of death.

When to Seek Urgent Medical Care?

• Seek urgent medical care if you experience any of the symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or cramping, persistent severe watery diarrhea, severe malaise, muscle aches, red eyes, raised rash and bruising.

Where to find Medical Care for Marburg hemorrhagic fever?

Medical care for Marburg hemorrhagic fever can be found here.

Sources

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000434.htm