Virus busters
among the dreaded human viruses that cause fever and extensive internal or external haemorrhaging, Ebola and Marburg viruses are the most feared. Responsible for a virtual carnage in several African states in the past, these tiny killers have been talked and written about the most. Belonging to the same family and known as filoviruses, both can cause rapid death, with about half of those infected dying within a matter of days. The Marburg virus gets its name from the town of Marburg in Germany where it was discovered in 1967, though the places where filovirus-induced fever is concentrated are mainly located in central and north eastern Africa.
Though the motivation to look for ways of treating and preventing such fatal outbreaks is strong, nothing