MARBUNG VIRUS - SCI
& TECH
News: Marbung
virus disease outbreak kills five in Tanzania
What's in the news?
● Five
people have died and three others are infected with the Marburg virus – a
highly infectious, Ebola-like disease – in Tanzania’s
north-west Kagera region, authorities said earlier this week.
Key takeaways:
● According
to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 161 people have been identified
as at risk of infection through contact tracing and are currently being
monitored.
Marbung Virus:
● Marburg
virus disease (MVD), earlier known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic fever,
according to the WHO.
● Marburg,
like Ebola, is a filovirus; and both diseases are clinically similar.
● Rousettus fruit-bats
are considered the natural hosts for Marburg virus.
● However,
African green monkeys imported from Uganda were the source of the first human
infection, the WHO points out.
● It
was first detected in 1967 after simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg and
Frankfurt in Germany; and in Belgrade, Serbia.
● The disease has an
average fatality rate of around 50%. However,
it can be as low as 24% or as high as 88% depending on virus strain and case
management, says the WHO.
Symptoms:
● After
the onset of symptoms, which can begin anytime between 2 to 21 days, MVD can
manifest itself in the form of high fever, muscle aches and severe headache.
● Around
the third day, patients report abdominal pain, vomiting, severe watery
diarrhoea and cramping.
● In
this phase, the WHO says, the appearance of patients has been often described
as “ghost-like” with deep-set eyes,
expressionless faces, and extreme lethargy.
Diagnosis and Treatment:
● It
is difficult to clinically distinguish MVD from diseases such as malaria,
typhoid fever and other viral haemorrhagic fevers.
● However,
it is confirmed by lab testing of samples, which like Coronavirus and Ebola are
extreme biohazard risk.
● There
is no approved antiviral treatment or vaccine for MVD as of now. It can be
managed with supportive care.
● According
to the WHO, rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids, and treatment of
specific symptoms can help prevent death.