Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever: The Uncensored Version

The Chief Blogging Officer at High Beam Research brought forward some very disturbing news: A serious outbreak of Marburg Fever is occurring in Angola. What is Marburg Fever? To begin, like Small Pox, Ebola, Hanta and Lassa, its classified as a level 4 biohazard; in otherwords, Marburg is as dangerous as viruses and bacteria come. Its one of two flavors of filoviruses; the other flavor being Ebola. Its extremely deadly; take this chilling statistic from the last WHO update from Angola: "As of 14 April, 224 cases have been reported. Of these cases, 207 were fatal."

However, Marburg is not merely fatal... In all of my knowledge, I cannot think of one infectious disease which is more brutal, hideous, and utterly unimaginable as Marburg hemorrhagic fever... I'm not shitting you when I say that I'd rather get Ebola. So what happens when you contract Marburg? According to the CDC's FAQ for the "General Public", Marburg is a lot like the flu, only rarer, deadlier, and includes a rash, jaundice, and "multi-organ dysfunction". Apparently, they used that phrase "multi-organ dysfunction" to describe about 3/4ths of Marburg's symptoms.

Some of you may wish to know the disturbing truth about Marburg Virus. For you, I transcribed and translated the medical terms from a WHO article The Surveillence of Marburg/Ebola Fevers, by Dr. D. I. H. Simpson.

I must warn the reader before they choose to go further that this description of Marburg is very specific, cold, disturbing, graphic, but above all honest.Consider yourself forewarned.

The Symptoms and Progression of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever

Note: Unlike the original article, this article is not intended for health professionals. For the sake of comprehensibility, I have removed all of the medical terms, and replaced them with standard english. Such changes are denoted by a "*".

The onset is abrupt with severe frontal and temporal headache and severe malaise. Generalized aching pains, particularly around the spine*, are common and the eyes are extremely sensitive and painful on pressure. A high fever is a[[arent by the second day of illness and the patient becomes increasingly debilitated. A severe watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea and vomiting are early symptoms. Knife-like chest, sore throut and cough are common, the throat discomfort being sufficently severe to prevent eating or drinking. A characteristic sandpapery rash* appears between days 5 and 7 involving the whole body. It last 4-5 days, is not itchy and is followed by a fine sheading and pealing of the outer layer of skin*.

A pronounced case of pinkeye* may occur and there is often an eruption on a mucous membrane in the mouth* accompanied by tapioca-like lesions on the tonsils. A sore throat* may be present and the throat is often extremely dry and there may be fissuring and open sores in the tongue and lips. Many patients on admission to hospital may have "ghost-like" drawn features, deep-set eyes, expressionless faces and extreme lethargy. The patient is anxious and often sullen(image that... known you have Marburg Virus and being anxious... ).

Rapid loss of weight, muscle wasting, fatigue, decrease of appetite* and dehydration follow and there may be a abnormally slow heart beat* and swollen glands*.

A high proportion of cases develop severe haemorrhagic(rupturing of blood vessals) manifestations between days 5 and 7. Fatal cases always have some form of bleeding and from multiple sites. THe gastrointestinal tract and lungs are more frequently affected. vomiting of blood*, haemorrhaging in the small intestine* and sometimes the passge of fresh blood in the stools are often accompanied by bleeding from the nose, gums, eyes, ears, and urethra. The hemorrhagging of tiny capillaries in the skin*, bloody urine, and bleeding from needle puncture sites are frequently seen. Death, when it occurs, is usually between 7 and 16 days and is proceded by severe blood loss and shock. Involvement of the central nervous system may be apparent with the patient reporting tingling, burning, itching, or crawling sensations on their skin*; in addition to lethargy, confusion, irritability, aggression and signs of irritation in the membranes surrounding the brain and spine*. Other features may be present which include less urination than normal*, swelling caused by excessive fluid in the body* , inflammation of the pancreas*, inflammation of the heart muscle*, and painful swelling of both testes*.