MARBURG VIRUS

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Context

• Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus disease.

Marburg Virus Disease

About

• 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 i.e family Filoviridae.

Origin

• The virus was initially detected in 1967 after simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg and & Frankfurt in Germany; and in Belgrade, Serbia.

Cause

• In this there is severe illness of humans and non-human primates caused by either of the two Marburgviruses: Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV). MVD is a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF),and the clinical symptoms are indistinguishable from Ebola virus disease (EVD).
• Marburgvirions contain non-infectious, linear nonsegmented, single-stranded RNA genomes.

Prevalance

• Marburg Viruses are endemic in arid woodlands of equatorial Africa.

Symptoms

• The common symptoms of a virus are fever, headache, fatigue, abdominal pain and gingival haemorrhage.

Transmission

• Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family are the key carriers of the disease. It typically infects humans following prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies.
• The home range of the fruit bats includes India, parts of Africa and the Middle-East, South-East Asian countries and some parts of Australia.
• Human-to-human transmission takes place through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people. Surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids are other vital sources. Its incubation period ranges from two days to three weeks.

Vaccine and Treatment

• There are no approved vaccinesor antiviral treatments for the virus yet.
• Early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival rates.

Equatorial Guinea: A Brief Note

• Equatorial Guinea is on the west coast of Central Africa.
• The country consists of a mainland territory, Río Muni, which is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the east and south, and five small islands, Bioko, Corisco, Annobón, Elobey Chico(Small Elobey), and Elobey Grande (Great Elobey). 
• The capital is Malabo.
• Equatorial Guinea lies between latitudes 4°Nand 2°S, and longitudes 5° and 12°E. Despite its name, no part of the country's territory lies on the equator—it is in the northern hemisphere, except for the insular Annobón Province, which is about 155 km south of the equator.
• Equatorial Guinea has a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons.