Marburg Virus Disease.

February 16, 2023

Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of MVD.
Marburg virus disease is a highly virulent disease that causes haemorrhagic fever, with a fatality ratio of up to 88%. It is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease.
- Though caused by different viruses, two diseases are clinically similar.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in bats and spreads between people via close contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, or surfaces, like contaminated bed sheets.
Symptoms– Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly, with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. Many patients develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
There are no authorized vaccines or drugs to treat Marburg, but rehydration treatment to alleviate symptoms can improve the chances of survival.
MVD was initially detected in 1967 in Marburg and Frankfurt (Germany); and in Belgrade (Serbia)