On August 9, the director general of the World Health Organization, WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared that in Guinea, a first case of infection with the Marburg virus has been identified. This is the first time that this dangerous disease has been detected in this African region.
Is this virus deadly?
This pathogen belongs to the filoviridae family, just like the Ebola virus. The disease caused by the Marburg virus is serious and can be fatal in humans. The WHO indicates that the case fatality rate, the proportion of deaths in relation to the number of people infected, can be very high. Indeed, it is on average 50% and can reach 88%, especially during an epidemic outbreak. This rate is variable, because it depends on the strain as well as the patient’s care. Marburg virus disease is characterized by the sudden onset of a high fever, severe headaches which may be accompanied by severe malaise. These main symptoms can be associated with other clinical signs such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and extreme lethargy. Like Ebola, Marburg virus disease is rare, with an incubation period of between 2 and 21 days. At the moment, there are no drugs or vaccines. The patient should be taken care of at the earliest stage of the disease. Treatment is symptomatic and relies mainly on rehydration. However, scientific research is ongoing.
How is the disease transmitted?
The WHO considers that a species of bat, Rousettus aegypticus, is the host of the Marburg virus. Infection between humans results from direct contact ” with blood, secretions, organs or body fluids from infected people, or with surfaces and materials […] contaminated by these liquids. The Institution has mandated a team of specialists on site, in Guinea, because it is the first time that this region of West Africa has identified a case.
Are the risks of a pandemic real?
It was in 1967 that the virus was first detected in Marburg, Germany and Serbia, following laboratory work on primates imported from Uganda. After these two simultaneous epidemics, cases of people infected with the Marburg virus soared in Kenya, Angola and Uganda. It was in 2017 that the last three cases were reported, in this Republic. For now, a new pandemic is not to be feared. However, the virus is being monitored and tracked by experts.
