Marburg Virus Disease

In News

• Ghana has reported its first-ever suspected cases of Marburg virus disease.

About Marburg virus disease

• It’s a highly infectious viral haemorrhagic fever with a fatality ratio of up to 88 per cent and belongs to the same family as Ebola
• The disease was first identified in 1967 in Germany’s Marburg and Frankfurt and Serbia’s Belgrade following two large outbreaks. 
  • Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda had reported cases earlier in sporadic outbreaks.
•  Key carriers : Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family are the key carriers of the disease.
  • The home range of the fruit bats includes India, parts of Africa and the Middle-East, South-East Asian countries and some parts of Australia.
•  It typically infects humans following prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies. 
• Transmission
  • Human-to-human transmission takes place through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.
  • Surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids are other vital sources. Its incubation period ranges from two days to three weeks. 
• Treatment 
  • Blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies are among the treatments being evaluated for this disease. 
    • Ramdev Sivir and Favipiravir, monoclonal antibody treatments developed for the Ebola virus, are also being considered for compassionate use or expanded access. 
    • There are no specific vaccines or antiviral treatments to treat the disease. While the Ebola vaccine may potentially protect against a Marburg virus infection, clinical studies are yet to confirm this. 

Source:DTE