Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued health directives, Thursday, regarding the Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.
Marburg is a rare and fatal viral fever that causes uncontrolled bleeding. It belongs to the family of viruses that cause Ebola hemorrhagic fever.
Although there are no cases in the United States and the current risk is low, health care providers should be aware of any imported cases, according to the warning from the Centers for Disease Control.
And the Centers for Disease Control stressed that health care providers who suspect that someone has been infected with the Marburg virus should know the person’s travel history in detail.
The patient should remain in isolation until the test results are negative, and the local health department should be contacted immediately.
Marburg virus is not contagious until symptoms appear, which can include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms, and unexplained bleeding.
Marburg virus can be transmitted through contact with an infected person’s blood and other body fluids, or through the fluids of infected animals. It is not transmitted through the air like the virus that causes Covid-19.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for this disease, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that early and intensive supportive care may prevent people from serious illness or death.
And last March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged travelers to Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania to avoid contact with patients and monitor symptoms for three weeks following visiting those countries.
The agency has posted notices at international airports reminding travelers to monitor symptoms and to see a doctor immediately if they feel ill.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent staff to Africa to help combat the outbreak, the first to be reported in Equatorial Guinea or Tanzania.
The authorities learned of the outbreak in Equatorial Guinea in early February.
On February 7, Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare announced a cluster of deaths in early January.
In late March, the Tanzanian Ministry of Health announced an outbreak in the northwestern part of the country. As of 5 April, there have been eight laboratory confirmed cases, and five of those people have died.
The CDC stated that there is no evidence to suggest that the two outbreaks are linked. Most experts agree that these cases represent two separate events transmitted from animal to human.
In addition to avoiding areas with known outbreaks, there are ways to keep yourself safe from Marburg virus, according to the CDC, namely avoiding contact with blood and body fluids from sick people.
The CDC advises avoiding contact with fruit bats and primates in areas with outbreaks, as both animals are known to carry the virus.
