Medical alert: Outbreak of Marburg, another dangerous disease, recorded in Nigeria... upsurge in COVID-19 too
Marburg virus is considered to be extremely dangerous
The management of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital has notified the hospital community about an outbreak of Marburg disease in Nigeria and an upsurge in Covid-19 infections.
In a memo from the Public Relations Unit on behalf of the Medical Director dated August 12, 2022, Sani M. Suileiman, the Deputy Director (Info.) drew the attention of all heads of department to ensure adequate surveillance and hyiene by observing all protocols of prevention.
The memo directed all heads of department to circularize the notice for more information as "prevention is better than cure."
It also promised that more information on the diseases would be provided later in the hospital's social media platforms.
Marburg virus is a hemorrhagic fever virus of the Filoviridae family of viruses and a member of the species Marburg marburgvirus, genus Marburgvirus. Marburg virus (MARV) causes Marburg virus disease in primates, a form of viral hemorrhagic fever.
The virus is considered to be extremely dangerous.
The World Health Organization (WHO) rates it as a Risk Group 4 Pathogen (requiring biosafety level 4-equivalent containment). In the United States, the NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ranks it as a Category A Priority Pathogen and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists it as a Category A Bioterrorism Agent. It is also listed as a biological agent for export control by the Australia Group.
The virus can be transmitted by exposure to one species of fruit bats or it can be transmitted between people via body fluids through unprotected sex and broken skin.
The disease can cause bleeding (haemorrhage), fever, and other symptoms similar to Ebola. Marburg virus is not the same as Ebola, although similar. According to the WHO, there are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatment for Marburg, but early, professional treatment of symptoms like dehydration considerably increases survival chances.
