A highly infectious disease named Marburg which, in addition to belonging to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola, which causes haemorrhagic fever, has been identified in Guinea and West Africa. This is the first case of death due to this virus which takes its name from the German city where it was discovered.
To make it known was theWHO, the World Health Organization, which stated that it is the first time that Marburg has been identified in the country and that it must be “stopped right from the start”. “This is the first time that Marburg, a highly infectious disease causing hemorrhagic fever, has been identified in the country and in West Africa.“, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. Moreover, just a couple of months ago Guinea had declared the end of an Ebola epidemic that broke out earlier this year which caused 12 dead. And now, the health workers who had been deployed against Ebola are back in the field to respond to this new health threat. What is of great concern is the infectivity and mortality that causes the disease. “The potential of the Marburg virus to spread far and wide means we need to stop it by following its trail“. Furthermore, the mortality rate in previous outbreaks it ranged from 24 to 88%, depending on the viral strain. It is not the first outbreak that is reported, cases have already been found in Angola, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa. To date there are 146 contacts and research is continuing to avoid this violent death.
It was a laboratory in the southern prefecture of Gueckedou who realized that it was Marburg. Blood samples were taken from a patient, now deceased, and after being tested it emerged that it was precisely the hemorrhagic fever. The Institut Pasteur in Senegal also confirmed the result.
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I bats fruit (food they eat), also known as pteropodidae, seem to have transmitted the virus to humans. The spread, on the other hand, is very similar to that of Covid-19: it occurs through direct contact with body fluids of people but also by touching surfaces or more simply infected materials. Although the disease does not seem much more than a flu at first, which is why it is not easily distinguishable from other tropical diseases, as the main symptoms are high fever, severe headache and fatigue, this is extremely dangerous. Many patients in the first week also find themselves with severe bleeding marks all over the body.
Although it is considered one by the WHO threat very serious nationally and regionally, the director of the WHO Africa office said it has the potential to spread rapidly, not as dangerous as it may appear internationally. At the same time, however, a team of ten WHO experts was immediately sent to the scene, able to help the local health authorities and avoid too great a spread.
It should also be emphasized that at the moment there is no specific therapy or approved drug but only supportive care.