The Independent newspaper revealed that this had caused it Marburg viruswhich is similar to the Ebola virus, has caused the death of hundreds of people in recent years, most of them in African countries, and is fatal for about half of the people infected with it, which according to data from the World Health Organization.
The most recent outbreak was detected in September 2024, marking the first time cases were detected in Rwanda There are now 46 confirmed cases along with 9 deaths, and monitoring is ongoing on about 300 people, after being in close contact with infected patients.
The newspaper said there were fears the disease could spread to Germany, where passengers were evacuated from one of the trains after a man with a recent history of travel to Rwanda showed flu-like symptoms from manned train with full protective equipment, but the test was repeated and the result was negative.
Of the 300 cases being monitored, one person from Rwanda traveled to Belgium, but is not believed to be a risk to public health after completing the 21-day monitoring period.
Rwanda’s Minister of Health confirmed that most of the victims of this epidemic were health care workers in the intensive care unit of the hospital. In a statement issued at the end of September, the ministry said it was “closely monitoring the situation” with investigations underway to find out “who where the disease came from.”
The World Health Organization said in an update that 7 out of thirty districts in Rwanda reported cases of infection, and among them, more than 70% were health care workers from two health facilities in the capital, Kigali. .
The group said that many of these areas are located on the border with Rwanda, which increases the risk of the disease spreading to East African countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo – which is already dealing to smallpox outbreaks – Tanzania and Uganda.
In response to the reports, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The World Health Organization is increasing its support and will work with the government of Rwanda to stop the spread of the virus and to help people who are in danger of protecting it. “
Rwandan authorities have now begun vaccine trials for the deadly virus, and the country has received 700 doses from the Sabin Vaccine Institute, a non-profit organization based in the US, to help with the effort.
The World Health Organization said the risk of an outbreak is “very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level.”
What are the symptoms of Marburg virus infection?
sickness Marburg virus It is highly contagious and can cause hemorrhagic fever with a mortality rate of up to 88%, and there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for it.
The time between infection and the appearance of symptoms can vary, and is usually between two and 21 days.
Other symptoms usually appear after another 3 days including:
Watery diarrhea
Stomach pain
nausea
Throwing out
The World Health Organization indicated that, at this stage, “the appearance of patients at this stage is described as exhibiting drawn, ‘ghost-like’ features, deep-set eyes, expressionless faces, and severe lethargy usually starts after 5 to 7 days, and in fatal cases, the bleeding is very bad and leads to death, and the bleeding occurs in the form of blood in the bowel, the stool, and several orifices.
First recognized in 1967 after two simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Belgrade in Serbia, the disease is believed to be initially caused by exposure to long people in caves or mines inhabited by colonies of Rosetus bats.
2024-10-07 12:22:00
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