Rousettus Aegyptiacus Research Paper

The Historical Epidemic

The Marburg Virus has been accounted as one of the deadliest viruses on Earth due to its ability to cause high fever and bleeding throughout the body leading to shock and eventually death (Harding, 2014). The epidemic occurred in the late 1960’s when a small group of lab workers from Germany had an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever. The first people who were exposed to the seemed to have some type of contact with green monkeys that were imported from Africa (CDC, 2014). There are animals that are great hosts to the virus but do not show any physical symptoms. One animal in mind is the Rousettus aegyptiacus or the fruit bat. However because of the widely distribution of the bats across Africa there are more possibility for

The transmission of the disease is usually human to human interaction, often involving getting in contact with bodily fluids such as blood, secretions and etc. The time period for the infection to show symptoms depending on the individual can take anywhere from two to twenty-one days. Once the virus successfully is in the host and as an optimal environment the symptoms began to take effect it begins rather rapidly (WHO, 2012). The signs start as a high fever followed by a severe headache and extreme discomfort. Over a span of hours or days the intestines are infected resulting in severe watery diarrhea and cramping. The diarrhea can constantly continue for a week. Patients have a blank appearance with baggy eyes and a sluggish motion when they show movement. Between the fifth and seventh day many patients have hemorrhagic manifestations which in fatal cases can cause bleeding in multiple areas in the body. If the virus attacks the central nervous system it can result in confusion and relentless aggression (WHO,

The Marburg virus is speculated to attack the endothelial cells in the body causing intravesical coagulation which in terms turns liquid blood into a gel resulting in clots. Endothelial cells are primarily formed in the inner surface of the blood vessel. The cells play a significant role in regulating blood pressure and homeostasis. They form a special selective barrier that has authority on what goes through between the blood and interstitial fluid in tissue (Schnittler et al., 1993).

The disease along with turning liquid blood into gel has the capability to silence the immune system from properly responding to the pathogen. According to Research Associate Shridhar Bale the human immune system usually sound an alarm to the rest of the immune system to properly respond against a virus-specific RNA. However, a protein in the Marburg Virus VP35 binds to the double-stranded RNA and hides to inhibit the alarm. New research shows that the protein circles around the RNA covering it fully. The results is significantly different from the preceding images of the VP35 protein from Ebola virus showing only capping the ends of the RNA but leaving the center of the RNA helix open for detection. (Bale et al.,