Context (IE): Recent outbreak of the Marburg virus has been reported in Rwanda.
Overview of Marburg Virus
- Marburg hemorrhagic fever is a rare but highly dangerous disease, impacting both humans and nonhuman primates. The virus responsible for the disease is the Marburg virus, which belongs to the family of RNA viruses and is zoonotic in nature.
- Both the Marburg and Ebola viruses are part of the same Filoviridae family (filovirus).
- The virus was first discovered in 1967 in the German city of Marburg when lab workers were exposed to infected green monkeys that had been brought in from Uganda.
- Currently, there is no approved treatment or vaccine available for Marburg virus disease.