The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an alert to inform physicians and public health departments of the detection of two buds of Marburg virus in Africa, a highly infectious and life-threatening disease. The health authorities indicate that the virus was detected in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzaniafor which they have begun to communicate with some travelers who arrive in the United States to observe possible symptoms.
The Marburg virus belongs to the same family as the ebola. Both diseases are considered “viral hemorrhagic fevers” and can cause internal bleeding and damage multiple organs. The latest outbreaks of the virus worry health officials, given that there is no treatment or vaccine and it has a mortality rate of 88%.
The CDC warning indicates that, although the risk is low at this time in the country, doctors should be vigilant about any cases that could be imported. “It is important to systematically screen patients for the possibility of viral hemorrhagic fevers,” they say in a statement.
Since the outbreak was officially declared in Equatorial Guinea on February 13, the virus has spread to other provinces of the African country despite the efforts of the authorities to contain it.
So far, they have confirmed 14 cases, with 10 deaths. In addition, 23 probable cases have been identified, who have also died. TanzaniaFor its part, it announced an outbreak of the disease in early February, and as of April 5, it has reported 8 laboratory-confirmed cases and 5 of those people have died.
Most experts point out that there is no evidence to suggest that the two outbreaks are related and that they have arisen from independent events of transmission from animals to humans, according to the CDC note. They warn that in Equatorial Guinea the cases have been detected in a wide swath of the country with no known links between the patients, indicating that the virus is spreading undetected among people in the region.
What is the Marburg virus?
The Marburg virus was first identified in 1967 in an outbreak in the German cities of Marburg and Frankfurt, detected in vervet monkeys from Uganda that were used in research laboratories. Since then, it has caused only a few outbreaks, mostly in Africa, according to the CDC.
This infectious agent causes a rare but serious hemorrhagic fever with a high fatality rate, making it a one of the most dangerous pathogens known.
It spreads between humans through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people, surfaces, and materials.. These fluids include vomit, feces, urine, saliva, sweat, breast milk, amniotic fluid, semen, and vaginal fluids.
In addition, it can survive in liquid or dry material for many days, and is only inactivated by gamma radiation, heating at 60 degrees for 60 to 75 minutes, or by boiling for five minutes.
The incubation period is from two to 21 days.s. Symptoms begin abruptly, with high fever, severe headache, diarrhea, stomach pain, and vomiting. At this stage, patients have been described as having a “ghost appearance” due to sunken eyes, facial expressionlessness, and extreme lethargy.
After five days, many patients often experience heavy bleeding from multiple orifices, such as the nose, ears, gums, eyes, or vagina.
During the severe phase of the disease, patients have persistently high fever. The involvement of the central nervous system can cause confusion, irritability and aggressiveness.
In fatal cases, death usually occurs 8 or 9 days after the onset of symptoms and is usually preceded by large blood losses. Case fatality rates have ranged from 24 percent to 90 percent in past outbreaks, depending on the virus strain and case management.
At the moment There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat the virus. Some studies are testing antibody and antiviral treatments, but these can only be given as part of trials, the WHO explains.
