AFPArchiefbeeld station Hamburg
NOS News•yesterday, 09:20•Adjusted yesterday, 11:21
Two train passengers in Hamburg, who were previously suspected of being infected with the Marburg virus, have tested negative. This means that they are not infected with the highly contagious and deadly virus.
A medical student and his girlfriend were removed from an intercity train yesterday due to possible contamination with the virus. Part of Hamburg station was therefore closed for a while.
According to German media, the 26-year-old student had just returned from Rwanda by plane. He is said to have worked in a hospital there and had contact with a patient infected with the Marburg virus.
On the way from Frankfurt airport to Hamburg, the student reportedly felt sick with the flu and therefore called the emergency services.
The Marburg virus is rare, but highly contagious and fatal. The virus is rare and easy to contain. The RIVM still considers the virus contagious, because the risk of infection is high if one comes into contact with an infected person.
The chance of death with serious complaints is almost 90 percent. It is accompanied by sudden fever, headache, vomiting, muscle pain and abdominal pain. At a later stage, heavy bleeding and organ failure occur.
Marburg resembles Ebola and is transmitted to humans by infected bats. People can infect each other through bodily fluids such as blood and saliva. Infections have mainly been reported by people who work in an ICU.
Rwanda has started developing a vaccine and is conducting trials. Eleven people have died in the country so far from the virus and a total of 36 people have been infected. Previous outbreaks occurred in Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Guinea.
People who have come into contact with the patients are being monitored.
