Once Marburg Virus has entered the body, it will target macrophages, dendritic cells which are key players to the immune system. Infection of these cells is the virus' mechanism to evade immune responses and spread through the body more efficiently. The virus also infected endothelial cells, liver cells and adrenal glands leading to large spread tissue damage. Its broad host cell nature causes severe multi-organ damage. BY damaging the liver and adrenal glands, metabolic and hormonal regulation the hosts condition worsened in severity of symptoms (Basler, 2015; Hume & Mühlberger, 2019; Singh et al., 2024).
The virus has an incubation period of 2-21 days before the symptoms will present themselves. Its early symptoms often include fevers, headaches, chills and malaise which are nonspecific and make the disease difficult to detect early. As the disease progresses the symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rashes, and internal bleeding. In severe cases it may cause liver failure, blood coagulation issues, and vascular leakage. The rapid advancement of from mild to severe symptoms of the disease supports the need for early detection and supportive care (WHO, 2024; CDC, 2024; Cross et al., 2020).
Marburg virus evades and alters the host's immune system response. This allows unregulated replication and severe disease progression. Because the virus affects epithelial cells it damages blood vessels which lead to an increase in hemorrhaging and permeability. The virus will trigger an overproduction of cytokines that will also damage healthy tissue and lead to organ failure. Infection of the adrenal glands can dysregulate hormones crippling the ability to regulate blood pressure (Basler, 2015; Hume & Mühlberger, 2019; Singh et al., 2024).