Geneva, Nov 16, (dpa/GNA) – Nine people in Ethiopia have contracted the potentially fatal Marburg virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Saturday, following confirmation from the African country’s Ministry of Health.
The Marburg virus is one of the most dangerous known pathogens, causing a disease that is often fatal. In addition to high fever, severe headaches and muscle pain, many patients develop heavy bleeding within a week.
The WHO says that there are currently no approved drugs for effective treatment, or vaccines to protect against the disease.
The outbreak in Ethiopia is “the first of its kind in the country,” according to the organization. However, there have been several cases in other East African countries recently, and genetic analyses indicate that it is the same strain of virus, that is now causing illness in the town of Jinka in southern Ethiopia.
The WHO has sent a team of experts to the region to combat outbreaks of such viral haemorrhagic fevers, according to a statement issued on Friday evening.
Local authorities are stepping up their existing measures, which include comprehensive testing, isolation of cases, treatment and contact tracing.
In previous outbreaks, the Marburg virus was often transmitted by fruit bats. Infection among humans occurs through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected patient showing symptoms. The WHO says transmission through contaminated material is also possible.
The pathogen is named after the German city of Marburg, where laboratory workers were infected with the previously unknown virus in 1967, while conducting experiments on monkeys.
GNA