Nine dead in new outbreak of ‘eye-bleeding’ virus with 90 per cent mortality rate – world health experts raise alarm
Nine people have died in a new outbreak of an ‘eye-bleeding’ Ebola-like virus, global health chiefs have warned.
Marburg, one of the deadliest pathogens ever discovered, has already infected ten people in the African nation of Tanzania since the country officially announced the outbreak last week.
Of these infections nine have died Africa’s health agency has announced — reflecting the virus’s 90 per cent mortality rate.
The cases were reported in the Kagera region of Tanzania. The area is located in the northwest of the country and has a population of nearly three million.
But because the country’s main international airport in the capital Dar es Salaam is easily accessible by train, experts are worried the disease could spread further, The Sun reported.
Ngashi Ngongo, from Africa Centre for Disease Control Centre (CDC), told an online briefing they are doing everything they can with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to limit the toll of the outbreak.
Authorities have identified ‘about 281 contacts’ of the 10 cases, which are being closely monitored for infections.
Marburg virus (MVD) is initially transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.
‘There have been a total of 31 tests that have been conducted, two confirmed, and 29 I think, that are negative,’ Ngongo said.
There are currently no vaccines or treatments available meaning medics are forced to focus on helping patients survive the infection.
This often puts health workers at direct risk of the virus, which can cause people to bleed from their eyes.
Marburg is a haemorrhagic fever — where organs and blood vessels are damaged, causing bleeding internally or from the eyes, mouth and ears.
The virus can be spread by touching or handling body fluids of an infected person, contaminated objects or infected wild animals. It is said initially to be transmitted to people after prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by fruit bats.
Symptoms appear abruptly and include severe headaches, fever, diarrhoea, stomach pain and vomiting. They become increasingly severe.
In the early stages of Marburg haemorrhagic fever, it is very difficult to distinguish from other tropical illnesses, such as Ebola and malaria.
Infected patients become ‘ghost-like’, often developing deep-set eyes and expressionless faces.
‘We would expect further cases in the coming days as disease surveillance improves,’ WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X earlier this month
Marburg has a mortality rate of up to 88 per cent. There are currently no vaccines or treatments approved to treat the virus
The WHO says it has a case-fatality ratio (CFR) of up to 88 per cent, meaning it can kill nearly nine in ten people it infects.
The outbreak in Tanzania comes less than a month after a Marburg outbreak in neighbouring Rwanda was officially declared over.
A total of 66 people were infected, roughly 80 per cent of which were healthcare workers.
The country reported 15 deaths, with Rwanda’s response praised internationally for its low death rate of 23 per cent — the lowest ever for a Marburg outbreak in Africa.
In March 2023, Tanzania’s Bukoba district experienced its first Marburg virus outbreak, which is thought to have killed six people and lasted for nearly two months.
‘We would expect further cases in the coming days as disease surveillance improves,’ WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X earlier this month.
In spite of the regional threat, global risk remains low as the virus does not spread easily between people, WHO said.
