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DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

  • 16 February, 2023

  • 5 Min Read

Marburg Virus Disease

Marburg Virus Disease

After at least nine fatalities, Equatorial Guinea has verified its first-ever Marburg virus illness epidemic.

About Marburg virus:

  • Humans are susceptible to Marburg virus disease (MVD), formerly known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever.
  • The Filoviridae family includes both the Marburg and the Ebola viruses (filovirus). Although the two diseases are brought on by distinct viruses, they are clinically identical.
  • Haemorrhagic fever is the result of the extremely virulent Marburg virus disease, which is carried by bats and has a fatality rate of up to 88%.
  • It belongs to the same family as the Ebola virus family of pathogens.
  • The disease was first identified in 1967 as a result of two significant epidemics that happened concurrently in Marburg, Frankfurt, and Belgrade, Serbia, as well as in Germany and Germany.
  • The outbreak was linked to laboratory experiments imported from Uganda African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops).
  • Human-Infection: Prolonged exposure to mines or caves where Rousettus bat colonies are present is the original cause of Marburg virus sickness in humans.
  • Megabats from the Old World belonging to the genus Rousettus. They are also known as flying foxes and dog-faced fruit bats.

Transmission:

  • Rousettus aegyptiacus, fruit bats belonging to the Pteropodidae family, are thought to be the Marburg virus's natural hosts.
  • The Marburg virus is conveyed between humans by direct contact with the blood, organs, or other body fluids of infected persons as well as with surfaces and materials that have been contaminated with these fluids. The virus is transmitted to humans from fruit bats.
  • Headache, blood in the vomit, muscle cramps, and bleeding from numerous orifices are all symptoms.
  • Jaundice, pancreatic inflammation, extreme weight loss, liver failure, major bleeding, and multiple organ malfunction are among the symptoms that worsen over time.
  • Making a diagnosis is challenging because many of the illness' symptoms resemble those of typhoid fever and malaria.
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, however, can be utilised to confirm a case.
  • There is currently no known cure or vaccine for Marburg hemorrhagic fever. The use of supportive hospital therapy is advised.
  • Supportive hospital therapy involves maintaining the patient's blood pressure, oxygen levels, and electrolyte balance as well as treating any aggravating infections and restoring lost blood and clotting components.

Source: The Hindu


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