| dc.description.abstract | Background: The Marburg virus (MARV) is the causative agent of Marburg
virus disease (MVD). This filovirus first appeared in 1967 and has
since caused several outbreaks with case fatality rates between 23% and
90%. The earliest cases of MVD are thought to be caused by exposure to
an infected animal, either a reservoir host (some bat species, e.g., Rousettus
aegyptiacus ) or a spill-over host, such as non-human primates. The
virus is spread between people by direct contact with blood or other bodily
fluids (including saliva, sweat, faeces, urine, tears, and breast milk)
from infected individuals. Despite the high fatality rate, the Marburg virus
has no vaccine or drug treatment. Recent outbreaks of the virus in 2023 in
Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea have reignited the need to develop effective
therapeutics, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Purpose: This review seeks to highlight the drug discovery efforts aimed
at developing vaccines or possible treatments as potential therapeutics.
Several existing antiviral agents are being probed, and vaccines are in
pre-clinical and clinical stages. Natural products are also an important
source of possible drugs or lead compounds and when coupled with
computational techniques, these strategies offer possible therapeutics for
the Marburg virus, especially in Africa, which has a high disease burden.
Methods: Using the search engines Google Scholar and PubMed; keywords
e.g. Marburg virus, Marburg treatments, Marburg virus drug discovery
were utilized. Several results were yielded, and articles published in
recent years were accepted into the final list. Results and Conclusion: This study shows there is a growing interest in therapeutics
for the Marburg virus, especially with the recent outbreaks and pandemic
preparedness. Initiatives that to support vaccine development and access
like the MARVAC consort time are critical to fighting this public health
threat. | en_US |
