What is the deadly Marburg virus and where has it spread? | Health news

Rwanda is battling its first outbreak of the “highly virulent” Marburg virus, first reported in late September.

On Thursday, 11 people were reported to have died from the virus in Rwanda. The health minister announced that the country would begin clinical trials of experimental vaccines and treatments.

So, what is Marburg virus and how concerned should we be about it?

What is Marburg virus?

Marburg belongs to the same family as Ebola, namely the Filoviridae virus family (filovirus). It has been described as more serious than Ebola.

It causes hemorrhagic fever, which is a type of fever that can damage the walls of blood vessels, according to information from the Mayo Clinic. Other diseases that produce this type of fever include dengue and yellow fever.

According to the Mayo Clinic, hemorrhagic fever causes internal bleeding that can be fatal.

The virus was first identified in 1967 in a German town called Marburg, from which it got its name. Simultaneously, it was identified in Belgrade, Serbia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the mortality rate between 24 and 88 percent. On average, about half of all those who contract the virus die from it.

According to the WHO, after a person is exposed to the virus, symptoms can take between two and 21 days to appear.

“Fatal cases usually present with some form of bleeding, often from multiple areas,” the website says, adding that the onset of bleeding can occur within five to seven days.

Bleeding from vomit or stool is often accompanied by bleeding from the nose, gums and vagina, the WHO website says.

In severe cases, death can occur eight or nine days after symptoms begin.

“Those with weakened immune systems are more likely to get seriously ill and die from this virus,” infectious disease expert Amira Roess told Al Jazeera. Roess is a professor of global health and epidemiology in the College of Public Health at George Mason University.

What are the symptoms?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of Marburg virus include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, bleeding, and gastrointestinal symptoms. -intestinal.

How is Marburg virus spread?

Some people have contracted Marburg virus after coming into contact with Rousettus bats, a type of fruit bat found in mines and caves, that carry the virus.

The source of the epidemic in Rwanda, however, remains uncertain.

Once an individual contracts the virus, they can transmit it to others through direct contact with bodily fluids via broken skin or mucous membranes. The WHO website states that even surfaces contaminated with bodily fluids, such as sheets or clothing, can spread the virus.

According to information from the CDC, the virus is not transmitted through the air.

What is the situation in Rwanda?

There are currently 36 confirmed cases of Marburg in Rwanda, with 25 people being treated in isolation, according to the latest government update.

According to the WHO, as of September 30, while there were 26 confirmed cases, 70 percent of the cases involved health workers at two health facilities in the country, who were not named.

“It is not uncommon to see outbreaks in health care settings, especially in resource-limited health care settings that do not have sufficient infection control,” Roess said.

Additionally, Rwanda is monitoring 300 people who came into contact with known cases.

Where did the Marburg virus spread?

On September 27, the Rwandan Ministry of Health confirmed the latest outbreak of the Marburg virus.

The current outbreak has so far only been reported in Rwanda.

It was feared the virus had reached Germany when two passengers on a train from Frankfurt to Hamburg contacted doctors, fearing they might have the virus.

However, local authorities announced Thursday that both tested negative in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, where a sample from the inside of the cheek, called a buccal swab, or blood is tested . It tests the genetic material of a specific organism, which in this case is the virus.

Small outbreaks of the virus have occurred in recent years, including West Africa’s first outbreak in Guinea in 2021, the first outbreak in Ghana in 2022, and the first outbreaks in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea in 2023.

These were quickly brought under control. In Equatorial Guinea, 17 confirmed cases and 23 probable cases have been reported. “12 of the 17 confirmed cases died and all probable cases were reported deaths,” according to the WHO. In Tanzania, there was one probable case and eight confirmed cases, five of which resulted in death.

According to the CDC, in Guinea, only one case was diagnosed after the patient’s death; in Ghana, three cases occurred, resulting in two deaths.

“We know that an infectious disease that appears in one region has the potential to become a problem on a global scale,” Roess said.

How dangerous is Marburg’s latest outbreak?

The WHO has assessed the risk of this outbreak as “very high nationally, high regionally and low globally”.

Is there a vaccine or treatment?

There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the virus.

Rwandan Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana announced on Thursday that the country was racing to develop a vaccine.

The WHO said some vaccine candidates were being manufactured. These include vaccines developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Sabin Vaccine Institute, which said it is collaborating with the Rwandan government.

The Oxford University team that formulated the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine launched a trial of its Marburg vaccine candidate in the United Kingdom this summer, using similar technology to the COVID vaccine.

The WHO told Reuters it had released funds for vaccine trials in collaboration with the Canadian government and the European Union’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).

Diagnosed patients should promptly seek treatment of their symptoms with painkillers and stay well hydrated.

How to avoid getting Marburg?

Roess said, “The best thing you can do is practice good hygiene and limit your exposure to sick people. »

She advised wearing masks when in contact with people with symptoms of the virus and not sharing food with people who may be infected.

“If you think you have been exposed to the virus, limit your contact with other people, monitor your symptoms and report it to your local healthcare provider or a Department of Health official,” she said.

She added that the situation is difficult with most outbreaks because many health facilities around the world do not have the resources to properly monitor the number of infected people.

“It is very important that the global community works together to fund preventive active surveillance and other programs. If we don’t take this seriously, more lives will be lost.”

Why are Marburg outbreaks becoming more frequent?

In the 50 years between 1967 and 2017, 13 outbreaks were recorded.

Since 2021, five outbreaks have been recorded, indicating that outbreaks are becoming more frequent.

Roess said we will likely continue to see outbreaks and cases increase for several reasons.

“First, people are coming into closer contact with wildlife all over the world,” she said, adding that wildlife is adapting to contact with humans and both wildlife and humans are less afraid. from each other.

She added that cases are also increasing due to the increase in chronic illnesses and immunocompromising conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. These make people more susceptible to contracting the virus.

Thanks to technological advances, people suffering from such illnesses are living longer, “which is great, but it also means that there are now more people at risk of getting sick when exposed to pathogens,” she said. Roess said.

She added that the spread of the virus is more likely in places with limited health infrastructure. “People come to seek care when they are very ill. [At which point] they can shed a lot of viruses. This also increases the risk of transmission.