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Two African countries have recorded cases of “highly lethal” Marburg virus disease, with fatalities ranging from 23% to 90%, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Thursday.Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
April 6 (United Press International) — Two African countries have recorded cases of “highly lethal” Marburg virus disease, with fatalities ranging from 23% to 90%, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Thursday.
“Marburg virus disease is a rare but highly fatal viral hemorrhagic fever caused by two zoonotic viruses, Marburg virus and Ravn virus, which are closely related to the Ebola virus in the Filoviridae family ,” says the CDC in health counseling.
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The disease is not contagious until symptoms appear, which can include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, loss of appetite and unexplained bleeding. It is spread through contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person. It is not airborne.
One case was recorded in the central African nation of Equatorial Guinea in February, while another was recorded in the East African nation of Tanzania in March, CDC officials said.
No cases have been reported in the U.S. or any other country, but officials caution that there are currently no FDA-approved vaccines or treatments.
“These outbreaks mark the first time Marburg virus has been detected in Equatorial Guinea or Tanzania, although the virus has previously been detected in neighboring countries and Egyptian fruit bats are known to have reservoirs in both countries,” the advisory reads.
Officials said early information indicated that the two cases were believed to have originated in their respective countries and there was no evidence of a link between the outbreaks. At present, experts are conducting viral gene sequencing on samples from Tanzania cases and comparing them with Equatorial Guinea cases.
Health officials in Equatorial Guinea said the first cases came after a “cluster of deaths” from the viral hemorrhagic fever was reported in two villages in the Nsok-Nsomo region in February. Samples were taken from each of the deceased, and one of them was confirmed to have tested positive for the virus.
The patient developed fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea and convulsions, and died the same day, according to the CDC.
“The patient appeared to be epidemiologically linked to four deceased community members from one of the affected villages in NsokNsomo District,” the advisory read.
A CDC-backed laboratory at a local hospital confirmed Wednesday that 14 cases have been confirmed in the county, and 10 of them have died.
“One province, Center Sur, has no known epidemiological links between patients,” the advisory reads.
“This, combined with the widespread geographic spread of the outbreak in the country, suggests that there may be undetected community transmission of the virus in the country.”
Although the risk of MVD remains low in the United States, the CDC says clinicians “should be aware of the possibility of imported cases.”
this last reported outbreak In 2022, 3 cases of MVD occurred in the Ashanti region of Ghana, with 3 cases and 2 deaths recorded.
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