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Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of illnesses caused by four families of viruses. These include the Ebola and Marburg viruses and Lassa fever virus. VHFs have common features: they affect many organs, they damage the blood vessels and they affect the body's ability to regulate itself. Some VHFs cause mild disease, but some, like Ebola or Marburg, cause severe disease and death.
VHFs are found around the world. Specific diseases are usually limited to areas where the animals that carry them live. For example, Lassa fever is limited to rural areas of West Africa where rats and mice carry the virus.
The risk for travelers is low, but you should avoid visiting areas where there are disease outbreaks. Because there are no effective treatments for some of these viral infections, there is concern about their use in bioterrorism.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
'''Virus Hemorrhage fevers''' ('''VHFs''') are a group of illnesses that are caused by several distinct families of viruses: Arenavirus, Filoviridae, Bunyaviridae and Flavivirus. Some of these cause relatively mild illnesses, whilst others can cause severe, life-threatening disease. Examples include Lassa fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, Bolivian haemorrhagic fever, Korean hemorrhagic fever, and Dengue hemorrhagic fever.
CDC: Management of Patients With Suspected Viral Hemorrhagic Fever - Treatment recommendations for patients infected with Lassa, Ebola, Marburg, and Crimean-Congo viruses, and ways to prevent contagion.
Hemorrhagic Fevers - Pointers to information about hemorrhagic fevers including Ebola and Dengue Fever
WebMD - Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses - Find information including the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment.
MedlinePlus: Hemorrhagic Fevers - Directory of factsheets, articles, and news stories.
CDC Special Pathogens Branch: Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers - Factsheets and resourses concerning the diseases.
CDC: Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presents detailed information about this mosquito-born disease, including maps of distribution of the mosquito and the disease, and photographs of the mosquito and the virus.
Ebola FAQs - Learn about the transmission process and incubation period of viruses through this fact sheet on a deadly type of hemorrhagic fever.
Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Facts - Provides answers to many of the common questions about Ebola.
Ebola Research Organization - Educating the public through spreading awareness. Ebola hemorrhagic fever specific information.
CDC: Disease Information: Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives a detailed description of marburg and its symptoms, fatality rate, and history.