Horror virus sees rise in new cases

Recently, new outbreaks of the Marburg virus have appeared in two African countries.

The virus outbreak was first reported in West Africa, specifically Equatorial Guinea. This week it was confirmed that the virus has spread to Tanzania in East Africa.

Now Equatorial Guinea confirms another eight cases of the highly contagious Marburg virus, writes Sky News.

The new infection figures bring the country’s total number of cases to nine since the outbreak was declared in mid-February, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

On 7 January this year, there was another outbreak of the virus which claimed eleven lives in the West African country.

Can bleed to death

According to FHI is the virus related to Ebola virus. It is transmitted in the same way, through contact with body fluids from sick people or animals, and gives a similar picture of the disease. If you become infected, you can be affected by one hemorrhagic feverwhich can cause people to bleed to death.

In the case of human infection, the virus can be transmitted from person to person through close contact with the infected, according to FHI.

The virus currently has no vaccine.

High mortality rate

Mortality from the disease can be as high as 80-90 per cent, but it can also be significantly lower (20 per cent) – it depends on the virus variant and how local authorities handle the outbreak, writes Norsk Helseinformatikk. There is no vaccine or antiviral drugs approved for treatment.

The disease was first detected as a result of two outbreaks linked to laboratory work with laboratory monkeys from Uganda, which took place simultaneously in 1967 in Marburg, Germany, and in Belgrade, Serbia.

The virus is thought to originate from a species of bat, and spreads between people through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people.

The largest outbreak in recent times was in Angola in 2005. It claimed over 300 human lives.