The Marburg virus belongs to the same family as Ebola, with previous outbreaks in Angola, Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda throughout Africa.
Guinea has identified a case of Marburg disease caused by a deadly virus associated with Ebola. COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) Handed over to humans from animal hosts, the World Health Organization said earlier this week,
The patient was a man who died on August 2, eight days after the onset of symptoms. The village where he lived is near the border with both Sierra Leone and Liberia.
WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Guinean Ministry of Health reported the incident to UN agencies last week.
“About 150 contacts have been identified and followed up, including three families and healthcare professionals who have been identified as close, high-risk contacts,” Tedros told a Geneva journalist.
The Marburg virus belongs to the same family as Ebola, and previous outbreaks occurred throughout Africa in Angola, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. Symptoms of Marburg include high fever and muscle aches, and some patients later bleed through body openings such as the eyes and ears.
What is Marburg? Marburg virus is a very dangerous pathogen Hemorrhagic fever..As we have noticed in past outbreaks, the average case fatality rate is 50 percent, According to WHO, it ranges from 24-88 percent.
Other important facts about the deadly cousin of Ebola are:
- The virus is so-called Filoviridae A family to which the Ebola virus belongs.
- The name comes from a German city MarburgAt a laboratory where workers were in contact with infected savanna monkeys imported from Uganda, at the location first identified in 1967.
- Two other outbreaks happened at the same time Frankfurt, In Germany BelgradeAt that time, the capital of Yugoslavia, now Serbia. Seven people have died.
- Early supportive care with Hydration, Symptomatic treatment improves survival rate.Still there No approved treatment Although proven to neutralize the virus, a variety of blood products, immunotherapies, and drug therapies are currently under development.
- Rousettusaegyptiacus, a fruit bat of the Pteropodidae family, Nature host Of the Marburg virus.Marburg virus is transmitted to people from Fruit bat It spreads among humans through human-to-human transmission.
- Community engagement The key to good control of outbreaks.
How is it communicated?
The natural “reservoir” or host of the Marburg virus is the African fruit bat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mammals living in caves carry the virus, but they do not get sick and can pass the virus to nearby primates, including humans. One of the suspicious routes is to feed or slaughter infected bats.
Human-to-human transmission occurs through contact with blood and other body fluids, or with surfaces such as bedding and clothing contaminated with these body fluids. Some infections happened in the laboratory through needle wounds.
What are the symptoms?
The virus takes 2 to 21 days to culture and causes sudden symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea. These symptoms are similar to diseases such as typhoid fever and malaria, which can make it difficult to diagnose Marburg first. ..
Bleeding episodes usually last 5 to 7 days, with blood flowing through the vomit and feces, bleeding from the nose, gums, and vagina. In fatal cases, death occurs most often between the 8th and 9th days.
What kind of treatment do you have?
There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for Marburg disease. However, hydration by oral or intravenous techniques improved survival and the experimental use of monoclonal antibody drugs was promising.
According to experts, this is why it is important to eradicate the disease from the beginning.
Usman Phi, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, said:
Other outbreaks
The single case ever detected in Guinea occurred in a village in the Gueckedou district in the southern woodlands of the country near the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia. The patient is a man who died on August 2 after symptoms appeared on July 25.
Three of his relatives and health care workers have been identified as at high risk and are under close scrutiny. About 150 other people who are considered contact cases are also monitored daily. The country has also increased cross-border vigilance.
Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been recorded in South Africa, Angola, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The most deadly epidemic to date occurred in northern Angola in 2005, killing 329 of 374 patients.
Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world. It was one of the three largest epidemics of Ebola, which occurred between 2013 and 2016 and killed more than 11,300 people, along with Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The second outbreak in Guinea began in February and killed 12 people before it was declared on June 19.
Input from Agence France-Presse
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More than 150 people have been quarantined after being killed by the Marburg virus in Guinea.Everything you need to know about the deadly cousin of Ebola
Source link More than 150 people have been quarantined after being killed by the Marburg virus in Guinea.Everything you need to know about the deadly cousin of Ebola
