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Two outbreaks of world’s deadliest virus in Africa

The Marburg virus has broken out for the first time ever in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea. There have been at least 9 laboratory-confirmed cases, 7 of which resulted in death, and 20 other probable deaths, according to the WHO.

Deadly Marburg virus breaks out in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea for the first time ever

In mid-February, the Marburg virus, one of the world’s deadliest, broke out for the very first time in the West African country of Equatorial Guinea, researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed.

On March 22, laboratory tests conducted by the WHO confirmed the first-ever cases of Marburg Virus Disease in Tanzania, following an outbreak that affected eight people in the region who developed symptoms, including fever, vomiting, bleeding, and kidney failure, from the “highly virulent” disease, the United Nations (UN) reported.

At least five of the eight individuals with confirmed cases of the Marburg virus have died. Authorities have identified 161 contacts who are now being monitored, CNN reported.

What is Marburg Virus Disease?

Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a rare but severe hemorrhagic fever. The virus affects humans as well as nonhuman primates.

Marburg virus is a genetically unique zoonotic (or animal-borne) RNA virus of the filovirus family.

The six species of Ebola virus are the only other known members of the filovirus family, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Symptoms of Marburg virus

Marburg virus infections have an incubation period of 2-21 days, then the onset of symptoms is sudden. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, and myalgia (muscle pain). Around the fifth day, a rash may appear on the trunk (chest, stomach, or back). Other symptoms include sore throat, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

As the infection progresses, symptoms become increasingly severe: jaundice, pancreatic inflammation, weight loss, delirium, shock, liver failure, massive hemorrhaging, and multi-organ dysfunction.

Marburg virus fatality rate

The fatality rate for Marburg virus disease (MVD) is between 23-90%. The fatality rate of the 1967 outbreak in Germany and Yugoslavia was 23%, while the 1975 outbreak in Johannesburg, South Africa, was 33%. Half of those infected in the 1980 Uganda outbreak died. An outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, affecting 154 people from 1998 to 2000, saw 83% die. An outbreak among 253 people in Angola from 2004-2005 saw 90% perish.

Roughly 80% of those infected in the 2023 outbreak in Equatorial Guinea have died, while more than 60% in the 2023 Tanzania outbreak have perished.

The origin of the Marburg virus

The Marburg virus is named after the location of the first outbreaks in 1967, when hemorrhagic fever occurred simultaneously in laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, as well as in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). The first people who came down with infections had been exposed to Ugandan-imported African green monkeys or their tissues while conducting research.

The reservoir host was identified as the African fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus. However, fruit bats infected with Marburg virus do not show obvious signs of illness.