Outbreak Of Deadly Ebola Virus In DR Congo Sep 13, 2007
There are four types of Ebola virus, which belongs to the family Filoviridae (same family as Marburg virus which also causes haemorrhagic fever): Zare (former name of DR Congo), Sudan, Cte d'Ivoire and Reston. The first three types are found in the region of Africa in and around the DR Congo, while Reston is usually found in the Western Pacific and does not cause clinical illness. (Medical News Today)
Marburg Virus Identified In A Species Of Fruit Bat Sep 11, 2007
The Marburg virus, like its fearsome cousin Ebola, belongs to the Filoviridae family ... Up to the end of the 20th Century, rare cases of violent haemorrhagic fever attack linked to Marburg virus were subsequently registered, essentially in East Africa: (in Kenya, Zimbabwe, parts of South Africa) ... A series of analyses were performed on the bats captured: detection of viral RNA in the liver and spleen by various methods of nucleotide amplification; a search for Marburg virus-specific... (Science Daily)
Clue on Marburg found in Uganda bat Sep 1, 2007
Researchers have reported for the first time that they have found the Marburg virus in a nonprimate species - bats. Now, they have turned their attention to a bat-infested lead and gold mine in western Uganda, in an attempt to determine if bats harbor the disease between periodic outbreaks in southern Africa. (International Herald Tribune)
Researchers Find Possible Animal Source For Marburg Virus Aug 27, 2007
Scientists have for the first time successfully identified Marburg virus infection in a common species of African fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus). Marburg virus causes severe, often fatal, hemorrhagic fever in people and non-human primates ... Bats have been suspected of carrying the virus, but until now, evidence of Marburg virus infection in bats had not been detected. (eMaxHealth.com)
Fruit bats the culprit in spreading Marburg virus Aug 25, 2007
Scientists have found that fruit bats that roost in caves could be the culprits in the spread of the deadly Marburg virus. The Marburg virus causes a deadly hemorrhagic fever and is a cousin of the equally deadly but possibly more infamous, Ebola virus ... This is the first report of the presence of the Marburg virus in that particular area of Africa and extends the known range of the virus. (News-Medical.net)
Scientists find deadly virus in fruit bat Aug 23, 2007
ATLANTA -- Scientists have found the deadly Marburg virus in one type of African fruit bat, the first time it's been detected in an animal other than a monkey. The bats were collected in the West Africa countries of Gabon and the Republic of Congo, but the test results support a theory that bats caused two recent human Marburg cases in nearby Uganda, health officials said. (Boston Globe)
Marburg Fever A Global Threat, Bats Could be Involved Aug 23, 2007
Uganda is the latest African country to be hit by outbreaks of the Marburg virus. Results of laboratory tests on blood samples from the Ugandan capital Kampala and Kamwenge, in the west of the country, taken from a mine worker who died from the disease in July and one of his close contacts during his illness, have come back positive for the Marburg virus ... Meanwhile in the Democratic Republic of Congo (next to Uganda), and its neighbour, Gabon, US and Gabonese scientists have captured over... (Medical News Today)
Africa: Marburg is a Global Threat, Says WHO Aug 22, 2007
THE deadly Marburg virus disease, which was reported in Uganda some weeks ago, is one of the biggest threats to global health security, the World Health Organisation has declared ... The marburg virus is less brutal compared to Ebola which is a severe, often-fatal illness in humans and non-human primates like monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees ... Uganda has been on high alert after the marburg virus disease claimed its first victim - Hannington Ssengendo, an employee of Kitaka Goldmine in... (AllAfrica.com)
Marburg Virus Found in African Bats Aug 22, 2007
ATLANTA Scientists have found the deadly Marburg virus in one type of African fruit bat, the first time it's been detected in an animal other than a monkey ... The man died of Marburg virus, a rare cousin of Ebola that can cause a rapid and gruesome death in which patients may bleed from the eyes, ears and elsewhere. (FOX News)
Scientists finger Marburg virus culprit: fruit bats Aug 22, 2007
PARIS (AFP) - Scientists reported Wednesday that they had finally fingered the culprit in the spread of Marburg virus, a singularly lethal disease that has baffled virologists for nearly four decades: the African fruit bat ... "From a public health perspective, this discovery offers us new insight into the transmission of Marburg virus and potentially other filoviruses," said lead author Jonathan Towner, a senior microbiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta,... (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Scientists detect presence of marburg virus in african fruit bats Aug 22, 2007
A collaborative team of scientists reported findings today demonstrating the presence of Marburg virus RNA genome and antibodies in a common species of African fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) ... The natural reservoir for Marburg virus has been the subject of much speculation and scientific investigation ... Marburg virus and the related Ebola virus have caused large outbreaks with high case fatalities (80-90%) in humans and great apes. (EurekAlert!)
Marburg outbreak worst recorded Aug 22, 2007
The Marburg virus, the Ebola-like bug, has claimed nine more victims in Angola this week making it now the worst ever recorded, health officials say. The number of deaths from the disease, which has no cure, since the start of the outbreak in October, stands at 126. (BBC News -- Africa)
Virus outbreak contained in Uganda Aug 11, 2007
The Marburg virus, a rare hemorrhagic illness, killed a 29-year-old last month ... The medical investigators will take blood samples to look for antibodies of the Marburg virus, before killing the animals and removing their livers and spleens. (Herald Online, SC -- Health)
Doctors go bat-hunting to find the source of Uganda's Marburg outbreak Aug 9, 2007
Wearing gowns, boots, masks, goggles and leather gloves, the medical investigators will attempt to catch 1,000 bats to be transported to a nearby mobile laboratory, where they will take blood samples to look for antibodies of the Marburg virus, before killing the animals and removing their livers and spleens. "It's quite dangerous work, but we hope it will help us answer some important questions about Marburg," Dr. Pierre Formenty, a hemorrhagic fever expert at the World Health Organization,... (North County Times)
Doctors hope to solve mystery virus in bat hunt Aug 9, 2007
Wearing gowns, boots, masks, goggles and leather gloves, the medical investigators will attempt to catch 1,000 bats to be transported to a nearby mobile laboratory, where they will take blood samples to look for antibodies of the Marburg virus, before killing the animals and removing their livers and spleens. ON DEADLINE: CDC: FACTS. (USA Today -- News)
Uganda: Marburg Contracted From Skinned Monkey, Says Official Aug 6, 2007
The Marburg virus outbreak in western Uganda that was confirmed on 30 July could have been contracted from a Colobus monkey, which was caught and skinned by two people, health officials said. "We have so far gone 14 days since the first case and if 21 days elapse without any other case, then the outbreak would have passed," Sam Okware, commissioner for health services, said. (allAfrica.com)
Uganda Reports Outbreak of Deadly Marburg Virus Aug 5, 2007
" The Marburg virus gets its name from the town in Germany where it was first reported, in 1967, and killed seven people. The virus was apparently carried by monkeys that had been brought to the town for blood tests as part of research on a polio vaccine. The virus causes hemorrhagic fever and is notorious for its most ghastly symptom, severe bleeding from most bodily orifices. But that is actually quite rare and more common symptoms are fever and stomach pains. A spokesman for the World Health... (Voice of America)
Marburg virus makes unwelcome comeback Aug 5, 2007
Select an Edition: Fri Aug 3 12:22:18 2007. A health worker in protective clothing in the northern Angolan town of Uige during the 2005 Marburg outbreak. (Reuters AlertNet)
Uganda: Marburg Feared in Kampala Aug 4, 2007
Junior health minister Richard Nduhuura told Parliament on Wednesday: "We have one confirmed case of Marburg virus disease who died on July 14, 2007. The second suspected case has fully recovered. Both cases are gold miners from Kitaka Mine located in Kakasi Forest Reserve in Kamwenge District.". Marburg hemorrhagic fever, experts say, is a rare but severe type of disease that causes generalised bleeding in humans. (AllAfrica.com)
New asset freeze in terror fight Aug 3, 2007
uganda Ebola-like virus hits mining camp An outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus at a remote Ugandan mine has killed one person and possibly infected several others, a World Health Organization spokesman said yesterday ... The Marburg virus has a death rate that can be higher than 90 percent. (Boston Globe)
Marburg outbreak in Uganda Aug 3, 2007
An outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus has been confirmed in Uganda's Kamwenge district by the health authorities. Two miners have been diagnosed with the fast-spreading Ebola-like haemorrhagic fever, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. (BBC News -- Africa)
Marburg virus: Kamwenge mine closed, isolation units established Aug 2, 2007
We have one confirmed case of Marburg virus disease who died on 14th July 2007, Dr Nduhuura said. The second suspected case has fully recovered. (The Monitor, Uganda)
Uganda: Marburg Cases Confirmed Aug 2, 2007
com: Uganda: Marburg Virus Confirmed in Kamwenge (Page 1 of 1) ... Uganda: Marburg Virus Confirmed in Kamwenge. (allAfrica.com)
Uganda: Ebola-Like Virus Hits Western Town Aug 1, 2007
"But it is most probably the Marburg virus. We thought we should send out this information early enough." ... Marburg virus was first recognized in 1967, when outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever occurred simultaneously in laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt (Germany) and in Belgrade (Yugoslavia) ... Where does the Marburg virus originate from. (allAfrica.com)
Get In That Bubble, Boy!: Jun 5, 2007
Daniel Engber the Marburg virus against Ebola. David Shenk pointed out flaws in the CDC's. (Slate)
AVI BioPharma Inc. May 9, 2007
66 million to treat Marburg virus infections, and $1. 78 million to develop countermeasures for exposure to Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) and ricin toxin. (The Business Journal of Portland, OR)
Antiviral Protein May Inhibit Ebola And Marburg Virus, New Study Suggests Mar 22, 2007
Researchers from Germany found that an antiviral protein previously shown to inhibit other viruses may also protect against Ebola and Marburg virus infection ... Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV) belong to the Filoviridae family and cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates. (Science Daily)
Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology Mar 20, 2007
New Study Suggests Antiviral Protein May Inhibit Ebola and Marburg Virus. Researchers from Germany found that an antiviral protein previously shown to inhibit other viruses may also protect against Ebola and Marburg virus infection ... Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV) belong to the Filoviridae family and cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates. (EurekAlert!)
Is it flu or malaria? New disease test has answer Dec 7, 2006
The researchers tested samples from a health care worker who died during an outbreak of deadly Marburg virus in Angola, which ended up killing 90 percent of its 252 victims. A PCR test showed no evidence of Marburg virus, and neither did the GreeneChip. (Scientific American)
'GreeneChip' -- New diagnostic tool that rapidly and accurately identifies multiple pathogens Dec 6, 2006
Within six to eight days of infection, Marburg virus causes an acute febrile illness that frequently progresses to liver failure, delirium, shock, and hemorrhage ... Although most of the cases were confirmed through PCR as caused by Marburg virus, some were not. (EurekAlert!)
China’s African Adventure Nov 19, 2006
And yet this is the same country where one out of three children dies before reaching the age of 5, where average life expectancy is 38, where cholera, polio and hemorrhagic fevers like the Marburg virus flourish ; a country that ranks 160th out of the 177 countries on the United Nations; Human Development Index. How, and when, will the cataract of oil money flow down the hill from Luanda Sul to improve the lives of Angola;s impoverished, war-weary citizens. (Shoals TimesDaily)
World's most deadly bugs... in the hands of terrorists Nov 15, 2006
" Scientists have already shown how easy it can be to create synthetic viruses. Last year, a team in New York created a synthetic polio virus using information about its gene sequence readily available on the internet and genetic material from one of the many companies that sell made-to-order DNA. Alistair Hay, a toxicologist from Leeds University, said synthetic biology offered an opportunity to improve human health by, for example, allowing scientists to create DNA sequences that may help... (Yahoo News -- Terrorism & 9/11)
Researchers Discover Key Mechanism By Which Lethal Viruses Ebola And Marburg Cause Disease Oct 31, 2006
In the study, researchers describe a series of amino acids in Ebola and Marburg viruses that resemble proteins in retroviruses known to suppress the immune system ... (April 27, 2006) -- A team of US and Canadian scientists has demonstrated the effectiveness of a vaccine in preventing the development of hemorrhagic fever in an animal model after exposure to the deadly Marburg virus. (Science Daily)
Africa: Study Shows How Ebola And Marburg Cause Disease Oct 20, 2006
Using a viral database, the research team looked for parts of the Ebola and Marburg virus genes that resemble other viruses known to suppress the immune system. They then synthesised the series of amino acids -- or proteins -- that the region of the genes produce, and tested their effects on human and monkey immune cells. (allAfrica.com)
Multiple Genetic Varients Clue To Source Of Deadly Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak Oct 4, 2006
Bausch's study enhances our understanding of Marburg virus, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list as a "select agent" that may potentially be used in bioterrorism ... (April 27, 2006) -- A team of US and Canadian scientists has demonstrated the effectiveness of a vaccine in preventing the development of hemorrhagic fever in an animal model after exposure to the deadly Marburg virus. (Science Daily)
Tulane researcher reports on origin of deadly fever outbreak Sep 14, 2006
Bausch's study enhances our understanding of Marburg virus, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list as a "select agent" that may potentially be used in bioterrorism. There is currently no approved treatment or vaccine for the disease. (EurekAlert!)
Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever — The Forgotten Cousin Strikes Aug 31, 2006
More than 30 years after the discovery of Marburg virus as the causative agent of an outbreak of severe viral hemorrhagic fever in Germany and the former Yugoslavia in 1967, the long-forgotten pathogen has struck twice in the recent past, leaving no doubt about its survival in nature or its pathogenic potential. The first strike came in 1998 (and lasted until 2000), when Marburg virus hit a gold-mining community in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as discussed by... (New England Journal of Medicine)
Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever Associated with Multiple Genetic Lineages Aug 31, 2006
The findings imply that reservoir hosts of Marburg virus inhabit caves, mines, or similar habitats. Source Information. (New England Journal of Medicine)
Angola to vaccinate millions of children Jul 1, 2006
World Health Organization epidemic specialists, at right, visit a shanty town after an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Angola in 2005 ... The Marburg virus killed almost 100 percent of infected people. (CNN -- World)
Expert: Ebola could travel to Europe Jun 20, 2006
Ebola and the deadly Marburg virus also infect wild primates such as apes and some studies suggest humans contract the disease while handling infected carcasses ... The Ebola and Marburg viruses are traditionally associated with central and west Africa, but that may change. (Aljazeera.Net)
[extra: Longer version] Jun 16, 2006
Angola, still recovering from a long period of civil war, has had outbreaks of infection of Marburg virus as well. The reported cases of polio were hundreds of kilometres apart, prompting fears that there may have been more unreported cases in the country. (British Medical Journal)
Island-hopping virus' ferocity exposed May 23, 2006
Chikungunya adds to a growing list of little-known viruses that have risen to attention over recent years, such as Ebola virus, Marburg virus and SARS, probably due to improved diagnosis and communication. "There are undoubtedly a huge number of viruses that infect people all the time that go unnoticed," Weaver says. (Nature News Service)
Angola's cholera toll continue to rise May 6, 2006
Vemba said health officials had gained valuable experience in combating the spread of disease during a yearlong epidemic of the Marburg virus that killed 227 people in the world's worst recorded outbreak of the Ebola-like fever. The rare virus was stamped out last November. (Independent Online)
AVI BioPharma Announces First Quarter Financial Results May 5, 2006
" Product Pipeline Update Technology Overview AVI has developed proprietary third-generation NEUGENE antisense technology, which is characterized by a novel synthetic backbone. NEUGENE antisense compounds are designed to bind to specific disease-causing gene sequences to disable or inactivate the disease process. AVI believes that this chemistry allows NEUGENE antisense agents to be more stable, specific, efficacious and safer than second-generation antisense compounds in clinical development by... (CNBC -- Research Alerts)
Marburg and Ebola Vaccine May 3, 2006
The highly fatal Marburg virus - estimated to kill upwards of 90 percent of those infected - are studied by USAMRIID researchers in "Biosafety Level 4"(BSL-4) containment facilities ... Scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory reported in the British medical journal "The Lancet," that monkeys given a high dose of Marburg virus - normally 100 percent fatal at that dose -... (Discover Magazine)
Vaccine hope for deadly disease May 2, 2006
Scientists are hopeful a vaccine against the deadly tropical disease Marburg virus could be developed ... The Marburg virus was first detected in 1967 ... They created the vaccine known as recombinant VSV (rVSV), by taking a harmless virus and replacing one of its genes with a non-disease causing gene from the Marburg virus. (BBC News -- Africa)
Vaccine Protects Infected Monkeys From Marburg Virus May 1, 2006
A vaccine against the deadly Marburg virus has surprised researchers by protecting monkeys given the jab after, rather than before, being infected. The findings, published online yesterday (27 April) by The Lancet, suggest that the vaccine might be useful if deployed rapidly during the rare but devastating outbreaks of Marburg virus ... Last year, a major outbreak struck Angola, killing scores of people (see Worst ever outbreak of Marburg virus hits Angola). (AllAfrica.com)
Vaccine may be treatment for Ebola-like virus Apr 28, 2006
WASHINGTON - A vaccine that protects monkeys against the highly deadly Marburg virus, a relative of Ebola, may also provide the first known treatment for the infection, researchers reported Wednesday ... The vaccine was created using a harmless virus known as vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV. The researchers took out one gene and replaced it with a key gene from Marburg virus ... Marburg virus killed more than 300 people 90 percent of those infected in Angola last year. (MSNBC -- Health)
Marburg Vaccine Proves Effective in Primates Apr 28, 2006
com: PanAfrica: Experimental Vaccine Protects Nonhuman Primates When Given After Exposure to Marburg Virus ... PanAfrica: Experimental Vaccine Protects Nonhuman Primates When Given After Exposure to Marburg Virus ... A team of U.S. and Canadian scientists has demonstrated the effectiveness of a vaccine in preventing the development of hemorrhagic fever in an animal model after exposure to the deadly Marburg virus. (allAfrica.com)
Experimental Vaccine Protects Nonhuman Primates When Given After Exposure To Marburg Virus Apr 28, 2006
A team of U.S. and Canadian scientists has demonstrated the effectiveness of a vaccine in preventing the development of hemorrhagic fever in an animal model after exposure to the deadly Marburg virus ... Marburg virus was first detected in 1967 and was the cause of a large outbreak in Angola in 2004-2005 that resulted in several hundred deaths with case fatality rates of about 90 percent ... Currently, no effective vaccines or drugs against Marburg virus exist, and treatment of the disease is... (Science Daily)
Forget earlier reports on pregnancy concerns Apr 28, 2006
The deadly Marburg virus, like several other so-called filoviruses, including Ebola and Lassa fever, is both hard to treat and to prevent. But in The Lancet, Canadian and U.S. researchers reported that an experimental vaccine, already known to prevent Marburg, can also be used to treat it. (CNN -- Health)
Scientists announce Marburg virus vac... Apr 28, 2006
Scientists announce Marburg virus vaccine Post-exposure treatment must undergo development for use in humans Published on April 27, 2006 ... USAMRIID scientist Thomas Geisbert and other scientists at the Army's biodefense lab at Fort Detrick announced Wednesday success in a post-exposure vaccine against the Marburg virus ... By Alison Walker News-Post Staff FREDERICK -- In what could eliminate Marburg virus as a bioterrorism threat, scientists at the Army's biodefense lab at Fort Detrick... (Frederick News-Post)
CWS Appeal - Angola Floods Mar 25, 2006
The floods, in turn, are exacerbating other health conditions, most notably the spread of the Marburg virus, which causes hemorrhagic fever. The Ireja Evangelica Reformada de Angola (IERA), the Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola, a CWS partner, recently conducted an assessment of the affected areas and determined that 1,653 homes were destroyed in the villages of Regedoria Tema, Quitando, Missao, Bego, Cazenga and Cangulo. (AlertNet)
AVI BioPharma Announces 2005 Fourth Quarter and Full Year... Mar 8, 2006
We apply this expertise to threats, such as for avian influenza (H5N1)," said Dr. Burger. Product Pipeline Update Technology Overview AVI has developed proprietary third-generation NEUGENE antisense technology, which is characterized by a novel synthetic backbone, instead of the modified backbones of other antisense technologies. AVI is developing products principally based on its NEUGENE antisense technology. NEUGENE antisense compounds are designed to bind to specific disease-causing gene... (CNBC -- Research Alerts)
Going to Bat Mar 3, 2006
Virologist W. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University notes that scientists suspect that the Marburg virus, a relative of Ebola, also originated in bats. Leroy vigorously argues that bats should not be culled. (Scientific American)
