What is Marburg virus? Outbreak of Ebola-like disease detected in yet another country

(NEXSTAR) – Health officials in Rwanda are dealing with the country’s first outbreak of the Marburg virus, an Ebola-like disease which, if left untreated, has a fatality rate of up to 88%.

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The outbreak was first declared on Sept. 27. The virus has sickened at least 36 people, 11 of whom had died as of this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

“At least 19 cases are in healthcare workers, the majority of whom work in intensive care units,” according to the CDC.

Health officials are currently investigating potential sources of Rwanda’s outbreak, which has affected seven of the African country’s 30 districts thus far.

Marburg virus was first identified in 1967 following outbreaks in laboratories in Marburg, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia, Seven people died after being exposed to the virus while conducting research on monkeys.

Outbreaks of Marburg disease have since been recorded in South Africa, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Uganda and Tanzania, with individual cases confirmed in the Netherlands and United States, per the World Health Organization.

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus is believed to originate in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets. Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease.

Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and malaise, with hemorrhaging being common in “many patients,” according to WHO.

“In fatal cases, death usually occurs between 8 and 9 days after onset, usually preceded by severe blood loss and shock,” the organization writes.

There is no authorized vaccine or treatment for Marburg, but WHO says the chances of survival are improved with rehydration and treatment of specific symptoms.

Rwandans have been urged to avoid physical contact to help curb the spread. Strict measures include the suspension of school and hospital visits as well as a restriction on the number of those who can attend funerals for Marburg victims. Home vigils aren’t allowed in the event a death is linked to Marburg.

At least 300 people who came into contact with those confirmed to have Marburg have been identified, and an unspecified number of them are in isolation facilities, according to Rwandan health authorities.

Health officials have also expressed concern that some of the cases were identified in regions that border other nations, including Congo, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania; however, no confirmed cases had been reported in any other nations as of Wednesday.

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“WHO assesses the risk of this outbreak as ‘very high’ at the national level, ‘high’ at the regional level, and ‘low’ at the global level,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of WHO, said during a media briefing Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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