World’s deadliest virus leaves victims in a ‘ghost-like’ state – and there’s no cure

The ‘cousin’ of Ebola that leaves its victims in a ‘ghost-like’ state is one of the world’s deadliest viruses – and there’s still no cure for it.

Marburg virus starts like a harmless flu, with a fever, headache and muscle pains.

But within days, those infected suffer from excessive bleeding, a rash, extreme lethargy and blood-stained vomit and diarrhoea.

The virus kills about half of the people it infects, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In one outbreak, 88% of those infected died.

Some scientists say the destruction of natural habitats could make outbreaks of Marburg virus more common as humans come into closer contact with virus-carrying animals.

Here’s everything we know about the deadly disease.

A mysterious lab outbreak

In 1967, a group of laboratory workers in Germany and Serbia started coming down with strange, flu-like symptoms. 

In some, the illness caused a hemorrhagic fever, which means they experienced excessive bleeding and bruising all over their bodies.

The infection then spread to the lab workers’s family members.

31 people tested positive for the infection, and seven people died.

The illness was traced back to laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and Belgrade in Serbia, which was then Yugoslavia.

One thing linked these labs: all three were conducting research on Ugandan green monkeys or their tissue.

Investigators soon discovered that the green monkeys, which had been imported from Africa, were infected with a virus spread by Egyptian fruit bats.

It was the first recorded case of an outbreak of the virus in humans, and it was named after Marburg, one of the towns where the infections took place.

The slow spread of Marburg Virus

Since then, there have been several outbreaks of Marburg virus in sub-Saharan Africa, where Egyptian fruit bats live.

The fruit bats don’t show any obvious signs of illness, making it difficult to identify potential outbreak risks.

The virus can spread from bats to primates, including humans. It can also be carried by pigs.

The infection spreads from human to human through direct contact or through materials like bedding and clothing that have been contaminated with body fluids.

The blood and semen of a Marburg virus victim can remain infectious for months, even after a person has recovered from the illness.

Several outbreaks have been traced back to miners working in bat-infested mines, and one outbreak was linked to people coming into contact with deceased bodies during funeral ceremonies.

In 2023, there were two outbreaks in Africa, in Equatorial Guinea and in Tanzania.

In Equatorial Guinea, there were 16 confirmed cases with 12 deaths, and in Tanzania, there were eight confirmed cases and five deaths.

In the last decade, there have also been outbreaks in Ghana, Guinea and Uganda.

Some scientists have warned that the frequency of Marburg outbreaks has been increasing in recent years.

They think that could be because of human encroachment on previously untouched habitats.

They also think that climate change could be having an impact of natural habitats.

That means infected animals are more likely to come into contact with humans and spread the virus to them.

One of the worst outbreaks was in Angola in 2005, where 300 people died of the infection.

The story of Michelle Barnes, the Marburg survivor

While there’s no vaccine or specific treatment for Marburg virus, it is possible to survive the infection.

American Michelle Barnes took a trip to Uganda in Christmas 2007 with her husband.

The couple spent their holiday exploring the country’s national parks and hiking.

On the plane back to the US, though, Barnes started to feel odd.

She had an awful headache and a high temperature. At first, she thought that she might have picked up a harmless traveller’s bug.

Then, her illness got worse. She broke out into a rash and felt incredibly fatigued.

‘It was really, truly horrible,’ Barnes later said.

‘The one symptom that really stood out is I couldn’t think clearly,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t make rational thoughts.’

She visited three doctors to try and get help, and while she was on her third trip, she collapsed.

Barnes was rushed to hospital where she underwent several tests for tropical diseases. None of them came back positive.

The doctors were worried. Barnes’s blood was taking too long to clot, which was harming her organs.

They had to urgently operate to remove her gallbladder, which was starting to fail.

Miraculously, after ten days in hospital, Michelle began to recover – but she continued to experience symptoms for months.

It wasn’t until seven months later that she saw a news story about a Dutch woman who had died after contracting Marburg virus after visiting Python Cave in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.

It was the same cave that Barnes had visited on her holiday.

She asked her doctor to be tested, and the results came back positive, marking the first recorded case of Marburg virus in North America. 

How conspiracy theories about Marburg virus spread

The Marburg virus has been at the centre of several online conspiracy theories.

In October 2023, a viral post on X, formerly known as Twitter, claimed that a test of the US emergency alarm system would ‘activate the Marburg virus’ in people who had been vaccinated against Covid-19.

There have also been claims that 5G spreads the Marburg virus.

‘There is no live virus in the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines that are in wide use,’  Amira Roess, a professor and epidemiologist at George Mason University specialising in emerging infectious diseases, told AFP FactCheck.

‘The components of the vaccines do not include anything related to the Marburg virus. There is no evidence to support the claim that 5G can activate the virus.’