Marburg virus: Here's what we know so far
Ghana has confirmed its first case of the deadly Marburg virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has dubbed the virus as a "highly virulent disease" found in the same family as the Ebola virus, with health experts saying that the Philippines poses a low risk of the virus.
Here's what we know so far about the Marburg Virus Disease, or MVD.
Origin
Marburg has its namesake from a town in Germany where the outbreak began in 1967. Similar outbreaks were found in Frankfurt and Belgrade, Serbia in the same year.
The virus was initially borne from laboratory work using African green monkeys from Uganda, while later cases were found in travelers who explored a Rousettus bat colony cave in Uganda.
The recent case found in Ghana serves as its first time found in the West African nation. There are no reports of the virus entering Asia as of this writing.
Symptoms
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that MVD has an incubation period of 2 to 21 days, with onset symptoms being chills, fever, headache, and muscle pain. Since it is hemorrhagic, patients can experience excessive bleeding symptoms between 5 and 7 days. Severe cases may experience bleeding in several areas, such as the nose, gums, and their private areas.
The average MVD case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 24% to 88% in past outbreaks depending on the treatment and strain.
Transmissibility
Once a person is infected with MVD, it can be transmitted via direct contact, blood secretion, and touching of similar surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with the virus.
Since it is a rare but deadly disease, no vaccine exists just yet although rehydration via oral or intravenous fluids and individual care and treatment can improve symptoms in the patient.
In August of 2021, The Department of Health said that MVD has a low chance of entering the Philippines.
"Nandyan po ‘yung posibilidad but of course, we would like to guard again our borders and we would like to be very careful on this," said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire amid the new cases found in Africa at the time.
"Sa ngayon po, yung threat sa atin, yung risk, napakababa."
