MARBURG FEVER

Course overview

MARBURG VIRUS DISEASE, CAUSED BY THE MARBURG VIRUS IN THE FILOVIRIDAE FAMILY, IS A RARE, SEVERE VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC FEVER. IT IS A SEVERE DISEASE WITH A HIGH CASE-FATALITY RATE THAT OCCURS IN HUMANS WHO TRAVEL TO ENDEMIC AREAS AND HAVE CONTACT WITH INFECTED BODILY FLUIDS OR CONTACT WITH INFECTED ANIMALS, SUCH AS THE HOST ROUSETTUS FRUIT BAT FRUIT. TO AVOID THE HIGH MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CONDITION, IT MUST BE PROMPTLY DIAGNOSED, AND SUPPORTIVE TREATMENT MUST BE INITIATED. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS OF MARBURG VIRUS DISEASE AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN RECOGNIZING AND EVALUATING PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.