PetriKey

Virus

Marburg virus

Filovirus, cave/mine bat exposure, VHF

MAR-berg VY-rus

filovirushemorrhagiczoonosisrna-virusnegative-sensebat-associated

High-yield clue

Filovirus sister to Ebola; classically tied to Rousettus fruit-bat exposure in caves and mines.

Overview

A negative-sense single-stranded RNA filovirus (genus Orthomarburgvirus) closely related to Ebola, studied as a hemorrhagic-fever agent linked to Rousettus fruit bats in caves and mines.

Classification

  • Filoviridae
  • Genus Orthomarburgvirus
  • Negative-sense ssRNA
  • Enveloped
  • Filamentous virion

Lab & identification clues

  • Filamentous filovirus morphology vocabulary
  • Viral hemorrhagic fever framing
  • Cave/mine exposure epidemiology concept

Associations

  • Rousettus (Egyptian fruit bat) reservoir
  • Cave and mine exposure epidemiology
  • Human-to-human body-fluid transmission
  • Viral hemorrhagic fever presentation vocabulary

Commonly confused with

  • Ebola virus
  • Lassa virus

Your notes

Original student-study summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment, dosing, or specimen-handling guidance.

OpenStax: Microbiology 2e organism classification foundationssourceNCBI Bookshelf: Medical Microbiology organism chapterssourceCDC: CDC disease and public-health topic pagessource