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As seen on "Medical Investigation"
February 18, 2005 | Archive

Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever
Discovered in 1967, Marburg hemorrhagic fever is a very rare, severe strain of hemorrhagic fever that affects both humans and primates. A member of the filovirus family, the Ebola virus is one of the only other members of this family.

The Marburg virus is indigenous to Africa. Symptoms of the disease include fever, chills, headache, and myalgia. After approximately five days, a rash may appear on the chest, back and stomach, and nausea, vomiting, chest pain, a sore throat, abdominal pain, and diarrhea may also occur. Symptoms become increasingly severe and may include inflammation of the pancreas, severe weight loss, shock, liver failure, massive hemorrhaging, and multi-organ dysfunction.

Many of the symptoms of Marburg hemorrhagic fever are similar to those of other infectious diseases, such as malaria or typhoid fever, so diagnosis of the disease is difficult. There is a 23-25% chance of death.

	Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever – from the CDC
	More information about hemorrhagic fevers

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	CDC : Our Vital Partner
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the primary Federal agency that dispatches field investigators to resolve public health emergencies. CDC is NIH's sister agency under the Department of Health and Human Services.

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This page was last reviewed on February 28, 2005 .

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