Since the initial identification of the Marburg virus in 1967, it has sporadically emerged in several countries throughout Africa, including Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Due to the concurrent occurrence of other epidemics like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this outbreak could endanger the healthcare systems in these many African nations. Recently, two cases of the Marburg virus were detected in Ghana for the first time. However, there has been a noticeable lack of information concerning this recent outbreak of July 2022 in Ghana. Therefore, this article seeks to provide an overview of this outbreak in Ghana to better understand the most recent status and current efforts being made to mitigate the dissemination of the Marburg virus. We also suggest recommendations that may contribute to limiting the burden of this virus.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104377 | DOI Listing |
Nat Med
January 2025
Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
The recent outbreak of Marburg virus (MARV) in Rwanda underscores the need for effective countermeasures against this highly fatal pathogen, with case fatality rates reaching 90%. Currently, no vaccines or approved treatments exist for MARV infection, distinguishing it from related viruses like Ebola. Our research demonstrates that the oral drug obeldesivir (ODV), a nucleoside analog prodrug, shows promising antiviral activity against filoviruses in vitro and offers significant protection in animal models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmunology
January 2025
The Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study of Sichuan Province, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Many virus species, including Ebola virus, Marburg virus, SARS-CoV-2, dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), exploit CD209 and CD209L as alternative or attachment receptors for viral cis- or trans-infection. Thus, CD209 and CD209L may be critical targets for the development of therapeutic monoclonal blocking antibody drugs to disrupt the infection process caused by multiple viruses. Here, we produced a human chimeric monoclonal blocking antibody that simultaneously blocks CD209 and CD209L, namely 7-H7-B1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
December 2024
IAVI, 125 Broad St, New York, NY 10004, USA.
: Orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses are filoviruses that can cause viral hemorrhagic fever and significant morbidity and mortality in humans. The evaluation and deployment of vaccines to prevent and control Ebola and Marburg outbreaks must be informed by an understanding of the transmission and natural history of the causative infections, but little is known about the burden of asymptomatic infection or undiagnosed disease. This systematic review of the published literature examined the seroprevalence of antibodies to orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses in sub-Saharan Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
November 2024
Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, Germany.
Background/objectives: Marburg virus (MARV) is the etiological agent of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), a rare but severe hemorrhagic fever disease with high case fatality rates in humans. Smaller outbreaks have frequently been reported in countries in Africa over the last few years, and confirmed human cases outside Africa are, so far, exclusively imported by returning travelers. Over the previous years, MARV has also spread to non-endemic African countries, demonstrating its potential to cause epidemics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogens
December 2024
Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), Kigali 11KG St 644, Rwanda.
In this review, we investigated the genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of the species that includes both Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV). Using sequence data from natural reservoir hosts and human cases reported during outbreaks, we conducted comprehensive analyses to explore the genetic variability, constructing haplotype networks at both the genome and gene levels to elucidate the viral dynamics and evolutionary pathways. Our results revealed distinct evolutionary trajectories for MARV and RAVV, with MARV exhibiting higher adaptability across different ecological regions.
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