Geneva (Switzerland): The Marburg virus, similar to the Ebola virus, has been reported in West Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the Marburg virus case was reported in Guinea.
Marburg is a member of the phyllovirus family, which includes Ebola, which can cause up to 88 percent of all deaths. Bats transmit the disease to humans. When it reaches humans, it can spread to others through blood and other body fluids.
The city got its name from the first case of the virus in 1967 in the German city of Marburg.
The infection was diagnosed from a sample collected from a patient who died on August 2 in Guacado. The Marburg virus comes two months after the World Health Organization announced the end of the second Ebola outbreak in Guinea. The Ebola outbreak, which began last year, has claimed 12 lives. Marburg reported in the woods on the border of Sierra Leone and Liberia. After the post-mortem, Marburg tested positive for Ebola. Three close relatives of the deceased are under observation.
The Guinean government has also confirmed the Marburg case. Marburg is most likely to spread from caves or mines inhabited by rosettes bats. According to the WHO, Marburg is transmitted through the body fluids of infected people or through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects. The country has stepped up preventive measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
Infection occurs within three to nine days after the virus enters the body. Marburg’s disease is not detected at an early stage, as it initially causes similar symptoms to malaria, yellow fever, and measles. Mortality rates range from 24 to 88 percent in previously infected areas.
The Marburg virus has previously been reported in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But this is the first time the disease has been reported in a West African country. Although there are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments, patients are treated for specific symptoms.
.
