Marburg haemorrhagic fever (MHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever and a virus from the same family as the one that causes Ebola haemorrhagic fever. These viruses are among the most virulent pathogens known to infect humans. Both diseases are rare, but have a capacity to cause dramatic outbreaks with high fatality rates.

Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly, with severe headache and severe malaise. Many patients develop severe haemorrhagic manifestations between 5 and 7 days, and fatal cases usually have some form of bleeding, often from multiple sites.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans, caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Plasmodium.  Four species account for almost all human infections but the species P falciparum causes the majority of infections in Africa and is responsible for the most severe forms of the disease, with the highest mortality rate. When an infected mosquito bites a human therefore, it can introduce the parasite from its saliva into the person’s blood.  Many different species of mosquito transmit malaria in this way.