Marburg 6 Cm Round Badge

The Marburg virus is the causative agent of Marburg haemorrhagic fever. Both the disease and virus are related to Ebola and originate in the same part of Africa (Uganda and Eastern Congo). The zoonosis is of unknown origin, but some scientists believe it may be hosted by bats. The disease is spread through bodily fluids, including blood, excrement, saliva, and vomit. There is no cure or vaccine for this deadly and infectious virus. Victims suffer a high fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, and severe bleeding from bodily orifices and usually die within a week. Fatality rates range from 25 to 100%. In the spring of 2005, the virus attracted widespread press attention for an outbreak in Angola. Beginning in October 2004 and continuing into 2005, the outbreak was the world's worst epidemic of any kind of haemorrhagic fever.