Marburg virus disease in sub-saharan Africa: Contemporary epidemiologyand future trends

There is a recurrent rate of filoviral epidemics, including

Marburg virus disease and its concomitant high mortality

in recent times. Thus, the need for prompt control of their

outbreaks have never been greater, especially in sub-Saharan

Africa. Given the severe economic and social catastrophe

of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world needs to mitigate a

recurrence by stemming outbreaks of high-risk pathogens

with pandemic propensities like the Marburg virus.

Therefore, we deployed a rapid systematic review of relevant

secondary sources on Marburg Virus Disease, tracing its

historical epidemiology and exposing its current situation in

sub-Saharan Africa. We found an average case fatality ratio

of 23 to 90% between 2004 and 2024. Hence, we argue

that the mortalities ascribed to Marburg Virus Disease are

comparable to Ebola. Thus, this piece reemphasizes the

need to focus on community education and engagement

and intensify the world’s focus on discovering vaccines

against Marburg Virus Disease, like Ebola and COVID-19.