Filoviruses: Ebola, Marburg and Disease

Allison Groseth, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Thomas Hoenen, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Markus Eickmann, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Stephan Becker, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany

Published online: December 2011

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0002232.pub2

Ebola and Marburg viruses belong to the family of filoviruses and cause severe haemorrhagic fevers in humans and nonhuman primates. Since their discovery in 1967, during outbreaks in Germany and former Yugoslavia originating with nonhuman primates imported from Uganda, they have been responsible for numerous disease outbreaks in Africa. Ebola has also been implicated in massive die-offs of great apes and in recent years there have been several cases of imported Marburg infections into Europe and North America. Filoviral haemorrhagic fevers (FHF) are severe diseases with case fatality rates of up to 90%. Currently, there is neither a licensed vaccine nor a specific therapy available. Although experimental vaccines and treatments have shown promise in nonhuman primates, at the present time supportive therapy and prevention of disease transmission through rigorous case management and patient isolation are the only means available to combat FHF.

Key Concepts:

  • Human pathogenic filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg viruses) are found in Africa, whereas Reston ebolavirus, which is nonpathogenic to humans, originates in the Philippines, where it is found in both nonhuman primates and pigs.
  • Although the absolute number of filoviral haemorrhagic fever cases is low when compared to other diseases, the severe disease picture and high case fatality rates have led to a high public profile of filoviral haemorrhagic fevers.
  • Imported nonhuman primates have been the cause of outbreaks of filoviral haemorrhagic fever in Europe and North America, both among humans and nonhuman primates. Tourism has also resulted in several imported infections during the last years.
  • Bats represent the most likely reservoir for filoviruses.
  • The pathophysiology of filoviral haemorrhagic fevers involves vascular dysfunction, impairment of the immune system and massive dysregulation of cytokine production.
  • Death is caused by multiple organ failure as result of a syndrome resembling septic shock.
  • Experimental treatments and vaccines in nonhuman primates exist, but are not licensed for use in humans.
  • Currently the only measures to combat filovirus infections are supportive therapy and patient isolation.

Keywords: Ebola; Marburg; filovirus; haemorrhagic fever

Figure 1. Genome organisation of filoviruses. Genes encoding RNP proteins (red), matrix proteins (yellow) and glycoproteins (blue) and untranslated regions (grey) are indicated. Intergenic regions are shown as black boxes, and gene overlaps are indicated as steps. The editing site in the EBOV GP gene is marked with a star.
Figure 2. Geographical distribution of filoviruses. The boundaries and names of the countries where Ebola virus or Marburg virus outbreaks have been reported are indicated. Not shown are imported outbreaks into Europe and North America. For the Philippines the provincial boundaries are also indicated and the names of affected provinces indicated. The site of each Ebola virus or Marburg virus outbreak is also indicated according to colour: Zaire ebolavirus (red), Sudan ebolavirus (orange), Reston ebolavirus (yellow), Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus (light blue), Lake Victoria marburgvirus (green) and ‘Bundibugyo’ ebolavirus (dark blue).
Figure 3. Model of filovirus pathogenesis. Filoviruses infect their primary target cells, macrophages and dendritic cells, and impair their function. Further, they infect endothelial cells and parenchymal cells leading to direct tissue damage and, in conjunction with proinflammatory cytokines released by infected macrophages, lead to a loss of endothelial barrier function. Tissue factor is expressed leading to disseminated intravascular coagulation, which together with the direct tissue damage is responsible for multiorgan failure and results in a syndrome resembling septic shock.
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Related Sub-Topics:

Virus Diseases | Viruses Infecting Humans | RNA Viruses | Viruses Infecting Animals
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Article Title: Filoviruses: Ebola, Marburg and Disease
 
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Groseth, Allison, Hoenen, Thomas, Eickmann, Markus, and Becker, Stephan(Dec 2011) Filoviruses: Ebola, Marburg and Disease. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0002232.pub2]