Marburg virus: What you need to know about the disease outbreak

The lethal Marburg virus has been detected in Equatorial Guinea and neighbouring Cameroon, and the World Health Organization is deploying groups to hint the unfold of the illness

By Grace Wade

Two suspected circumstances of Marburg illness have been detected in Cameroon. This comes days after an outbreak was confirmed in neighbouring Equatorial Guinea – the nation’s first such outbreak – after a not too long ago deceased individual examined constructive for the illness. This is the primary outbreak of the extremely transmissible virus since June 2022 when well being officers in Ghana detected three circumstances.

Officials suspect at the very least eight different individuals in Equatorial Guinea have died from the virus. An extra 16 most definitely have the situation after exhibiting signs together with fever, fatigue and blood-stained vomit, and 21 different individuals who got here into contact with them are isolating at dwelling, stated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the World Health Organization (WHO), in an emergency assembly on 14 February.

“Thanks to the rapid and decisive action by the Equatorial Guinean authorities in confirming the disease, emergency response can get to full steam quickly so that we save lives and halt the virus as soon as possible,” stated Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa, in the course of the assembly.

The WHO is working with the federal government of Equatorial Guinea to reply to the outbreak and has deployed specialists in epidemiology, medical care and illness prevention to the nation. It can be aiding officers in Cameroon and Gabon to organize for quickly detecting, isolating and offering care to individuals who could contract Marburg virus.

About 50 per cent of individuals with Marburg virus die from the illness, although fatality charges can vary from 24 to 88 per cent relying on the virus pressure. Marburg virus belongs to the identical household of viruses as Ebola and causes related signs similar to extreme fatigue, headache and haemorrhaging. Serious bleeding usually happens every week into sickness, with blood regularly showing in vomit and diarrhoea. Bleeding from the nostril, gums and vagina can be frequent.

Outbreaks have a tendency to start out when somebody contracts the virus from extended publicity to fruit bats, often in caves or mines. It then spreads from individual to individual by means of direct contact with bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces – it’s not airborne.

“The people at the highest risk include family members and hospital staff who care for patients infected with Marburg virus,” says Harish Moorjani at Northwell Health in New York. The threat of the virus spreading to international locations outdoors of Africa, such because the US and UK, is extraordinarily low, he says.

There is not any vaccine or authorised therapy for Marburg virus, though staying hydrated by means of ingesting or receiving fluids intravenously improves survival. Attendees on the WHO assembly mentioned potential vaccine candidates, and three drug builders stated they can make sufficient doses to check vaccines within the present outbreak. The WHO and Equatorial Guinea officers are additionally in discussions about probably testing experimental therapeutics within the area.

“Any decision on trials of [Marburg virus] vaccines and therapeutics will be made by national authorities and researchers in Equatorial Guinea,” stated Ghebreyesus. “In the meantime, WHO is convening the vaccine prioritisation committee to identify which candidate vaccines should be evaluated first and taking steps to prepare for potential trials.”

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