HealthWhat should you know about the Marburg virus? we explain it to you

What should you know about the Marburg virus? we explain it to you

(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.

Now authorities in Tanzania, in East Africa, have confirmed the first case of the deadly disease in that country. 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 continent to continent through human transmission. In terms of infection, we’re a community, so I turned to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen to ask her about the Marburg virus. Wen is an emergency room physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.

I asked about the symptoms of the disease, what makes it so dangerous, how it is spread, whether there is a vaccine, and how the disease is treated. Finally, who should worry about the Marburg virus?

CNN: What is Marburg virus disease?

Dr. Leana Wen: The disease is caused by the Marburg virus, which belongs to 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 nonhuman 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?

Wen: The 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?

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 in which the semen of a man who was recovered from Marburg was transmitted to his partners.

The people most at risk for Marburg are people in direct contact with infected people. That includes family members, caregivers, and healthcare 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?

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?

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. 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 in microscopic aerosols.

The two Marburg outbreaks in West and East Africa need to be closely monitored. Healthcare workers in these regions must be on high 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 that can cause serious harm to human health.

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