Deadly Marburg virus found in West Africa for first time

Egyptian fruit bats. Credit: Diana Lili M Investigators have now detected Marburg virus in West Africa for the first time, a December 21, 2018, statement from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. The deadly virus was isolated from fruit bats in Sierra Leone. Marburg virus is related to Ebola virus. Both belong to the Filoviridae family of zoonotic viruses and cause outbreaks of hemorrhagic fevers with high fatality rates in humans and nonhuman primates. Transmission of Marburg virus predominantly occurs via close contact, as well as via infected blood and other body fluids. It can also occur by infected semen. The Egyptian fruit bat or Egyptian rousette (Rousettus aegyptiacus) is the natural reservoir host of Marburg virus. The bats shed the virus in their saliva, urine, and feces while feeding on fruit. And people become exposed to the virus when they eat fruit that has been contaminated by infected bats, or if they are bitten by infected bats while capturing them...