To the Marburg virus, its cousin Ebola is due to the disease that has already killed five people in Tanzania and causes hemorrhagic fever, the Ministry of Health of the African country announced yesterday Tuesday.
“The results of our public health laboratory have confirmed that the disease is caused by the Marburg virus,” said Health Minister Umi Moualimou, calling on citizens to remain calm as “the government has managed to limit the spread” of the disease. Three patients have been admitted to hospital and 161 contacts of cases of the virus are being monitored by the health authorities. Among the victims was a member of the health staff. “There is no reason to panic or stop economic activities (…) We are doing everything we need to control this infectious disease,” he said.
The east African nation last week sent a team of doctors to the Kangera region neighboring Uganda to investigate the outbreak.
Symptoms and transmission
The Marburg virus is extremely dangerous. It causes high fever, often accompanied by bleeding, affects multiple organs. It belongs to the family of filoviruses, which also includes Ebola, a virus that has caused deadly epidemics in Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) praised the authorities’ immediate response to the outbreak, adding that it must be ensured that “there are no gaps” in the health response.
“I call on community officials to join their efforts with those of the government to ensure that (patient) contacts are traced and that those who need care receive it,” said Dr. Zambulon Yoti, WHO representative.
Neighboring Uganda, which recorded the most recent outbreak of the Marburg virus in 2017, said it was placed on “high alert”.
The natural host of the Marburg virus is a species of fruit-eating African bat, which is a carrier but does not become ill. The virus is named after the German city of Marburg, where it was first identified in 1967, in a laboratory whose workers had contact with infected monkeys imported from Uganda.
Animals can spread it to primates living among them, including humans. Human-to-human transmission occurs through contact with the blood or bodily secretions of patients.
The fatality rate of confirmed cases has ranged from 24 to 88 percent (the average was just under 50 percent) in previous outbreaks, depending on the strain of the virus and the treatment given to patients, according to the WHO.
There is no vaccine
Right now there isn’t either vaccinenor antiviral therapy, but experimental treatments, particularly immunotherapies and drugs, are in the process of being evaluated, according to the same source.
Eleven people have also died from the disease caused by the Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, where an outbreak was announced on 7 January. This was the first time that an epidemic of the virus broke out in this country, APE-MPE reports, citing Reuters and AFP.
Other outbreaks, or isolated cases, have previously been identified in South Africa, Angola, Kenya and DR Congo.
Source: News Beast
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