A Deathly Donut

What am I looking at?

Here we see Marburg virus particles (purple – 1) infecting a cultured cell (green – 2). Click on the right arrow to see a closer view of the virus particles infecting this cell.

Biology in the Background

The Marburg virus causes Marburg virus disease (MVD) and is related to the more widely known Ebola virus. The average mortality rate of this disease in humans is about 50%, meaning that about half of those infected will die from the disease. However, there have been multiple outbreaks with much higher mortality rates, reaching almost 90% at its worst. While there is no vaccine for the disease, re-hydration treatment and treatment of specific symptoms can significantly improve survival rates.

Symptoms of a Marburg infection are similar to an Ebola infection, causing high fever, severe headache, muscle aches, severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting within the first three days of infection.  At day five, patients may develop hemorrhagic symptoms, including bloody vomit and diarrhea, bleeding from the nose, gums, and vagina.  

Marburg outbreaks are most common in Africa but have occurred in Europe as well. Fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) are thought to be the original virus host. Transfer of the virus from bats to humans (and other primates like monkeys) is thought to occur from exposure to infected bat droppings, especially for those who work in or have repeated exposure to mines or caves where the bats roost. Transmission can also occur between humans through direct exposure to an infected individual’s bodily fluids.  

The virus is named after the city of Marburg, Germany, where it was first identified in 1967. In that year, outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever occurred simultaneously in Marburg and Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). The victims were laboratory workers that came in contact with infected African green monkeys imported from Uganda for research.

Marburg virus particles can be up to 800 nanometers long, roughly 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Technique

These images were created using scanning electron microscopy.