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Mahesh

04/12/24 11:18 AM IST

Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda

In News
  •  An outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) has killed at least 15 people, and infected at least 66 in Rwanda.
About MVD
  • Marburg belongs to the filovirus family, like the much better known Ebola.
  • Both pathogens are clinically similar, and although rare, can cause outbreaks with high fatality rates.
  • The first recognised MVD outbreak occurred in the town of Marburg in Germany in 1967.
  • Since then, subsequent outbreaks have been mostly reported across Africa, most recently in Tanzania, Ghana, and now Rwanda.
  • The World Health Organisation has put MVD in a list of pathogens that pose the greatest threat to public health, and do not have adequate drugs and vaccines against them.
  • Initially, human MVD infections were caused by prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by colonies of Rousettus bats, most notably the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus).
  • According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus also spreads through human-to-human contact: both directly (through contact with blood and other bodily fluids of infected people), and indirectly (through surfaces and materials like bedding, clothing, etc. contaminated with these fluids)
Symptoms
  • The interval between infection and onset of symptoms varies from 2 to 21 days.
  • Initial symptoms, according to the WHO, include high fever, severe headache, muscle ache, severe watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and cramping, and vomiting.
  • Many patients develop haemorrhagic symptoms (bleeding), often in many places including the digestive system (faeces and vomit often come with fresh blood), the nose, gums, the eyes (hence “bleeding eye disease”), and vagina.
  • Haemmorage leads to most MVD fatalities, with death in fatal cases occurring 8 to 9 days after the onset of symptoms, usually of severe blood loss and shock.
  • Currently, there are no approved vaccines or specific treatments for MVD.
  • According to WHO, supportive care — rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids — and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival.
  • The US-based Sabin Vaccine Institute had provided Rwanda with 700 doses of its experimental Marburg vaccine, which were administered to healthcare professionals at the frontlines. Its efficacy is still unclear.
Source- Indian Express

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