Akinlami Geyrils Alaba Human Race In Danger?! From Ebola to Marburg;a season of deadly viruses??!! With West Africa, and indeed the rest of the world, still reeling from the deaths brought about by the Ebola virus, the recent death of a Ugandan hospital technician of another deadly viral disease, Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever (MHF), has brought fresh fears. Uganda’s Ministry of Health disclosed that a total of 99 people who had been in contact with the victim had been moved to quarantine. These contacts are being monitored for signs and symptoms of the disease after tests confirmed that the 30-year-old man who worked as a radiographer in a Kampala hospital died of the disease. The man was said to have had a headache, abdominal pains, diarrhoea and vomited blood before he died. Marburg virus was first identified in 1967, after simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg (from which the disease takes its name) and Frankfurt both in Germany, Belgrade, Serbia and Yugoslavia. It was later traced back to monkeys imported from Uganda for laboratory work. Since then, the virus has appeared sporadically, with just a dozen outbreaks on record. The most recent outbreak, also in Uganda, in 2012, killed four out of 15 patients, according to the United States of America’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Marburg virus is similar to the Ebola virus in many ways than one. They both cause illnesses marked by severe bleeding (haemorrhage), organ failure and, in many cases, death. The Marburg virus is a genetically unique zoonotic (transmissible from animal to man) RNA virus of the filovirus family. The five species of Ebola virus are the only other known members of the filovirus family. The reservoir host of Marburg virus is the African fruit bat which, when infected with the virus, do not to show obvious signs of illness. Although, it is not clearly known of how the Marburg virus first got transmitted from its animal host to humans, it was discovered that in the two cases in Uganda in 2008, unprotected contact with infected bat faeces or aerosols were the most likely routes of infection. In some other outbreaks, persons who have handled infected non-human primates or have come in direct contact with their fluids or cell cultures have become infected. As soon as infection occurs, it leads to contracting the deadly Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever which has a high mortality. Human-to-human transmission occurs within communities through cultural practices, under-protected family care settings and under-protected health care staff. Just like the Ebola virus, close contact with the blood, secretions or other bodily fluids of infected persons, burial ceremonies where mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased and close contact without the use of correct infection control precautions by health workers can play a significant role in the transmission of the Marburg virus. Transmission can also occur through infected semen for up to seven weeks after clinical recovery. Transmission has not been established to be air borne or by insect bites. According to the World Health Organisation, case fatality rates in Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever outbreaks have ranged from 24 per cent to 88 per cent. The incubation period (period from infection to beginning of symptoms appearing) varies from two to 21 days. The World Health Organisation states that symptoms of Marburg haemorrhagic fever begin abruptly with high fever, severe headache, muscle aches and pains as well as severe general feeling of unwellness. Severe watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea and vomiting usually begin on the third day. The diarrhoea can persist for a week. The looks of patients at this phase also change drastically as it has been reported that they show “ghost-like” drawn features, deep-set eyes, expressionless faces, and extreme lethargy. Sometimes, a non-itchy rash may be noted in patients between two and seven days after onset of symptoms. As the name implies, there is haemorrhaging (bleeding) at some point. Many patients develop severe haemorrh
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 13:31:14 +0000
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