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Scientists link fruit bats to deadly Marburg virus

Infection Control Monitor, August 24, 2007

Scientists have identified a common species of African fruit bat that harbors Marburg virus, a lethal disease that has baffled virologists for nearly four decades, according to news reports.

Researchers from Gabon and the United States detected the virus' RNA genome and antibodies in a species of fruit bat found all across sub-Saharan African. Marburg and the related Ebola virus have caused large outbreaks of disease with fatality rates of 80% to 90% in humans and great apes. There is no vaccine or drug therapy available to fight the virus which causes internal bleeding, high fevers, coma, and renal failure. The virus is spread by the transfer of blood or other bodily fluids and infected patients must be in kept in isolation.

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