World Health Organization is monitoring the worsening epidemiological situation in Rwanda due to the Marburg virus, the agency’s press service reported . To reduce the risk of the disease entering Russia, specialists have prepared a diagnostic test system, they added.
“At checkpoints across the state border, using the AIS Perimeter, department specialists identify citizens with signs of infectious diseases, including those arriving from countries with an unfavorable epidemiological situation,” the department’s website says.
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the threat of a new Marburg virus epidemic after the first cases were reported in Rwanda. As of September 26, the WHO said there had been 26 cases and eight deaths.
Almost all of the cases are staff at two health facilities in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali. Experts say the risk of an outbreak is very high at the national and regional levels, but low at the global level. WHO is currently tracking about 300 people who have been in contact with the infected, including one who left the country.
Marburg – what kind of virus is it?
Marburg (Marburg Marburgvirus, or MVD) is a “relative” of Ebola. The virus also belongs to the filovirus family. This name is explained by their shape: thin and long, like a wire. Like other viruses, it can mutate, so several variants are already known that cause illness of varying severity.
The virus, which has a fatality rate of between 25% and 90% according to the World Health Organization (WHO), spread from rural Equatorial Guinea to more populated areas and major transport hubs in 2023. In 2024, the virus reached Rwanda.
How it appeared
The Marburg virus was first discovered in 1967 after simultaneous outbreaks in the German city of Marburg and Belgrade. The natural carriers in nature are flying dogs, members of the fruit bat family. They live mainly in large flocks in caves and feed on fruit. Flying dogs can infect each other with Marburg, but they do not show any symptoms. They then transmit the virus to humans.
How is it transmitted?
Marburg is spread through direct contact. You can become infected through damaged skin or mucous membranes. You can also catch the virus through contact with surfaces and materials, such as bed linen or clothing of an infected person.
What are the symptoms?
At the onset of the disease, the clinical diagnosis of MVD is difficult to distinguish from many other tropical febrile diseases due to the similarity of clinical symptoms:
- fever;
- sore throat;
- rash;
- abdominal pain;
- nosebleed;
- In severe cases, bleeding from the eyes is possible.
The incubation period varies from two to 21 days. According to WHO experts, the disease caused by the Marburg virus proceeds as follows. It begins suddenly with a high temperature, severe headache and malaise. On the third day, diarrhea may begin, accompanied by abdominal pain and cramps, nausea and vomiting. Fatal cases are usually accompanied by bleeding in one form or another, often from several areas. Death occurs eight days after the first symptoms appear.
Is there a vaccine?
Laboratory confirmation is mainly done using a PCR test. Other types, such as antibodies, can also be used. There is no WHO-approved vaccine yet. Patients are prescribed supportive and symptomatic therapy.
Can the virus spread around the world?
WHO reported that confirmed outbreaks were only noted in Africa. It is only known that the first outbreak began in January 2023, during which time nine people died with a confirmed diagnosis, and another 20 were suspected of having the virus.
However, WHO currently assesses the risk associated with this outbreak as very high at the national level, moderate at the regional level and low at the global level.
In 2023, the US federal agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recommended that tourists not visit countries where outbreaks of the deadly Marburg fever have been recorded. These are Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea. The authorities of the UAE and Saudi Arabia made a similar statement. They noted that travelers should postpone their visit to these countries if it is not necessary. Those already in these countries were advised to take precautions.