Marburgvirus

Did You Know?

• Until 1998, the family Filoviridae contained only one genus, Filovirus.
• In 2002, the genus name was changed to Marburgvirus, and it was emended in 2010 and 2011.
• A virus is a member of the species Marburg marburgvirus if its genome differs from Marburg virus (variant Musoke) by less than 30% at the nucleotide level.

Use of term

Marburgvirus is a genus of viruses in the Filoviridae family and Mononegavirales order. It holds just one species, Marburg marburgvirus, and its individual viruses are called marburgviruses. The genus name comes from Marburg, a city in West Germany where the virus was first found, plus the suffix -virus. Even though the virus is named after that city, the first person to isolate it was Dr. Ana Gligić, a lead virologist in Belgrade.

Marburg marburgvirus

The species Marburg marburgvirus, also referred to as Lake Victoria marburgvirus, is a virological taxon within the genus Marburgvirus. It was introduced in 1998 as Marburg virus, renamed Lake Viktoria marburgvirus in 2005, and changed to Marburg marburgvirus in 2012. The species has two virus members: Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV). Its name combines the city of Marburg with the taxonomic suffix marburgvirus.