Morphology, Development, and Classification of the Marburg Virus

An infectious agent obtained from patients who became ill after exposure to tissues of African green monkeys is viral in character. By electron microscopy, the agent appeared cylindrical, 90 to 100 nanometers in diameter, and 130 to 2600 nanometers in length. Cross-striations at 5-nanometer intervals and a core diameter of 45 nanometers were observed. The agent was completely resistant to the effects of the metabolic inhibitor 5-bromodeoxyuridine, which may mean that RNA is the genetic material. It was sensitive to ether and relatively sensitive to destruction by heat.