After an outbreak in Equatorial Guinea, the so-called Marburg virus has also spread to the East African country of Tanzania. Due to a mortality rate of 62.5 percent and a high chance of spreading to other areas, the World Health Organization (WHO) residents to be very careful about human contact. But what exactly is the Marburg virus?
Like Ebola, Marburg virus is a filovirus, a viral fever associated with severe bleeding. Virologist Marion Koopmans explains: “Like Ebola, Marburg occurs in wild animals. African fruit-eating bats are the reservoir.” The virus gets its name because it was originally discovered in the 1960s in Marburg, Germany.
Danger
De WHO writes that the fatality rate from the virus could be as high as 90 percent, but currently it stands at 62.5 percent. Humans become infected mainly through prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies. How exactly this happens is not yet known. “There have been a few cases where people who walked in a cave with bats have been infected,” says Koopmans.
Among them was a Dutch tourist who died in the Leiden University Medical Center after a visit to Uganda in 2008. Once a person is infected with the virus, it can spread from person to person through direct contact with blood, saliva, or other bodily fluids of infected or deceased people.
Outbreak
After an outbreak in Equatorial Guinea, in western Africa, the virus also appeared in Tanzania. It is not yet known whether these cases are related or whether they are two different outbreaks, says Koopmans. She says that there are also suspicious cases in Burundi. “Because of the spread in Tanzania and the WHO risk estimate, which indicates that the risk is also high for neighboring countries, I do take into account that the presence of the virus is also confirmed in Burundi,” she explains.
Therapy
There are currently no known agents that could treat the virus. However, previous outbreaks of Ebola have shown that the chance of survival is greater if people receive treatment quickly, for example with a fluid infusion.
The WHO states that the most important thing is to make people aware of the virus and immediately trace people who have been in contact with those infected.
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