Both students completed an internship in a hospital, which is considered an additional risk factor. “They left last night and returned home this morning. The goal is for them to continue their internship here as soon as possible.”the university said. Their condition does not in fact give rise to concern.
Three other students from the establishment are still there as well as a doctoral student. The university indicated that if the situation changed, it would ask them to return to Belgium as well. Six students from Ghent University (UGent) will also return home this weekend.
Marburg virus is a rare pathogen that occurs mainly in central and eastern Africa. The disease is transmitted to humans by bats and is spread by direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or via surfaces. “It is a filovirus, a virus from the same family as Ebola. It has already caused epidemics in the past, mainly in Uganda, Angola and Congo. Several epidemics have been recorded in recent years.”explains Emmanuel Bottieau, professor of tropical diseases at the Institute of Infectious Diseases in Antwerp.
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The symptoms of the virus are very similar to Ebola. “The disease presents itself as a fever which will deteriorate and be accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms and the famous serious hemorrhagic signs, that is to say more or less significant bleeding which can appear in the throat, nose or organs In the most serious cases, systemic damage is observed. The mortality rate is 20 to 25%, which is a little lower than for Ebola but unlike Ebola, we currently do not have it. treatment or vaccine”continues the specialist.
The reservoir being the bat, the disease mainly affects people who work in mines, caves, travelers or… health professionals who work with people affected by the virus. However, scientists do not know why some people develop more severe forms than others.
“It remains a big mystery. There is no real correlation with people’s immunity unlike covid or the flu. Obviously, a young child or an elderly person will be more likely to have complications but we also see healthy adults who can become seriously ill. It all depends on how each body reacts but also on the quantity of virus caught. There is no sufficiently in-depth research that allows us to answer this. question. But for the first time, a hospital in a big city is affected. Maybe we will have the opportunity to better study the disease, take blood samples, etc.continues the specialist.
No transmission without symptoms
Fortunately, the contagiousness of the disease is much less than that of covid. “The advantage with Marburg virus is that there is no presymptomatic transmission. It’s when people get sick and start vomiting, for example, that they become contagious. We know how to control this type of epidemic relatively easily with simple hygiene measures. At this point, I heard there were 35 reported cases and eleven deaths. But you should know that we only detect the most serious cases, which always gives a false impression of seriousness. It is a serious illness but we have higher rates than what happens in reality.“, specifies the professor of tropical diseases.
Anyone who has stayed in Rwanda over the last three weeks and presents one or more symptoms or has been in contact with a sick person there is invited to immediately contact their doctor by telephone and provide them with their travel history.
Deadly virus spread by mosquitoes forces people to stay home
