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Marburg virus alert: UAE issues health advisory on how disease spreads among humans

Knowing how infections transmit will enable people to take preventive action, the ministry says

Published: Mon 3 Apr 2023, 2:23 PM

Updated: Tue 4 Apr 2023, 7:47 AM

  • By
  • A Staff Reporter

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The UAE recently advised residents against travelling to Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania due to the outbreak of Marburg virus. The two countries have reported at least 14 deaths from the virus so far.

The Marburg virus disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever that can have a fatality rate of up to 88 per cent, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The virus causes severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.

The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap) on Monday posted a general advisory on its social media channels, explaining how the infection spreads. “Being aware of how infections are transmitted enables us to take preventive action and prevent their spread,” the ministry said.

The Mohap said the virus can spread in three ways:

  1. Human-to-human transmission via direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes with the blood, secretions, or other bodily fluids of infected people.
  2. Close contact with an infected animal
  3. Direct contact with surfaces and materials (for example bedding or clothing) contaminated with these fluids.

AFP reported last week that the death toll from the outbreak of the virus in Equatorial Guinea reached nine. The reported cases are in three provinces 150km apart, "suggesting wider transmission of the virus", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said.

According to the WHO, Tanzania reported eight cases, including five deaths.

The virus is part of the so-called filovirus family that also includes Ebola. According to AFP, the suspected natural source of the Marburg virus is the African fruit bat, which carries the pathogen but does not fall sick from it.

There are currently no vaccines for the virus.

“There is no specific treatment for Marburg virus disease. Supportive hospital therapy should be utilised, which includes balancing the patient’s fluids and electrolytes, maintaining oxygen status and blood pressure, replacing lost blood and clotting factors, and treatment for any complicating infections,” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website.

sahim@khaleejtimes.com

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