(CNN) — Equatorial Guinea, a West African country, declared an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in mid-February.
There were at least nine laboratory-confirmed cases, seven of which resulted in death, and 20 probable cases of people killed in this outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Now, the Tanzanian authorities, in eastern Africahave confirmed the first case of the deadly disease in that country.
Who should worry about the Marburg virus? Here we explain what the symptoms of the disease are, what makes it so dangerous, how it spreads, if there is a vaccine and how it is treated.
— CNN in Spanish (@CNNEE) March 29, 2023
Health officials are investigating a total of eight cases, five of whom have died, and have identified a total of 161 contacts who are being monitored.
As most people now know from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a virus can spread from country to country and jump from one continent to another through the human transmission.
CNN spoke with Dr. Leana Wen, to investigate the consequences of this disease. Wen is an emergency room physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
CNN: What is Marburg virus disease?
-Dr. Leana Wen: The disease is caused by the Marburg virus, which is in the same family of viruses as the Ebola virus. Like Ebola, Marburg causes a severe hemorrhagic fever that affects multiple organ systems and can include profuse bleeding, affecting both humans and non-human primates.
Viral infection is a zoonotic disease, which means that the origin of the disease is transmission from animals to humans. With previous outbreaks, fruit bats have been identified as hosts for the Marburg virus, from where the virus is transmitted to people.
-CNN: What are the symptoms and what makes this disease so dangerous?
-Dr. Leana Wen: Marburg virus disease is extremely deadly and is highly contagious when you come into direct contact with an infected person. With previous outbreaks, case fatality rates have ranged from 24% to 88%, with an average case fatality rate of around 50%. That means about half of the people who get the disease will die from it.
Symptoms often start suddenly, and infected patients experience high fever, headache, muscle aches, and malaise. It is also common to have abdominal pain and cramps and severe watery diarrhea.
This disease, like Ebola, is a hemorrhagic fever, in which infected individuals bleed from multiple orifices.
Externally, patients may bleed from the nose, gums, and eyes, and internal bleeding manifests as blood in the vomit, urine, and feces. Severe blood loss can cause shock and death.
The incubation period, the period from infection to the onset of symptoms, is from two days to three weeks. Most symptoms begin within a week, and death occurs eight to nine days after the initial symptoms.
-CNN: How does the Marburg0 virus spread?
-Dr. Leana Wen: Like Ebola, Marburg is transmitted through direct person-to-person contact. That includes contact with blood or other body fluids or objects contaminated with the body fluids of an infected person, such as bedding, clothing, needles, and other medical equipment.
Some cases were also documented where semen from a man recovered from Marburg was passed on to his partners.
The people most at risk for Marburg are people in direct contact with infected people. That includes members of the family, caregivers and health workers.
People with suspected or confirmed Marburg virus should self-isolate. Caregivers should wear protective gowns, gloves, and masks to avoid direct physical contact with the patient.
-CNN: Is there a vaccine? How is Marburg virus disease treated?
Dr. Leana Wen: No Marburg virus vaccine has been developed, although there is an experimental vaccine and other candidate vaccines.
There is no specific antiviral treatment. Infected patients are treated with symptomatic and supportive therapies, which means they will receive fluids, oxygen, and blood transfusions as needed.
-CNN: Who should worry about the Marburg virus?
-Dr. Leana Wen: Right now, cases of Marburg virus disease have been found only in the two countries, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania. Efforts are underway to contain these outbreaks. Successful containment occurred in the past.
Marburg is not a new disease: it was detected in 1967 after simultaneous outbreaks in Germany and Serbia. Since then, there have been numerous outbreaks, including in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and most recently, in 2022, in Ghana.
Although the Marburg virus causes serious illness, there are ways to contain it. Individuals who transmit it to others are generally symptomatic.
First human trial of experimental Marburg virus vaccine shows promising results
— Future 360 (@futuro_360) March 11, 2023
Also, the Marburg virus is not transmitted through the air. That makes it easier to control compared to COVID-19, which is often spread by people without symptoms and is so contagious that it requires no direct contact and can be carried on microscopic aerosols.
The two Marburg outbreaks in West and East Africa need to be closely monitored. Health workers in these regions must be in maximum alert and efforts to test a vaccine and treatments must be accelerated.
At this time, there is no need for most of the world to worry about the danger of infection from Marburg.
However, the Marburg virus is another reminder of the many zoonotic pathogens which can cause serious damage to the Human health.