There is a very deadly person who has Flared up in Africa

The devastating Ebola outbreak in Tanzania, declared by the national public health laboratory, and recalled by a village in Ibaraizibu

This gathering wouldn’t have been the beginning of a deadly outbreak if he had not been buried. Soon, some of those present began to fall ill. On March 16, Tanzania’s chief medical officer announced that an unknown, “possibly contagious” illness had been detected and deployed a rapid response team to Bukoba. The cause was found by the National Public Health Laboratory five days later.

So similar are the symptoms that “in this village, most people believe it’s Ebola,” says Abela Kakuru, a resident of Ibaraizibu, which is a 10-minute drive from Bukoba’s affected villages. There is one big difference between Marburg and the other diseases: no vaccines or antivirals have been approved. Fluids, electrolytes, blood, and oxygen can be given to treat the symptoms, but there’s nothing yet to contain or fight the virus. “Supportive care to patients is the mainstay of treatment,” Tanzania’s minister of health, Ummy Mwalimu, said in a press briefing in late March.

How Many Contacts Do You Need to Get Informed Before Getting Out Of The Vaccine? An Empirical Analysis of Marburg Virus in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania

There is no need to start from scratch in developing a vaccine. Several experimental vaccines have shown promise in nonhuman primates, and one from the Sabin Institute has also recently been tested in a small number of humans. It was found to be safe and to stimulate an immune response.

The World Health Organization is now planning to start trials of some of the experimental vaccines using what’s known as ring vaccination. “It means we will offer the vaccine to the close contacts of the cases,” says Ana-Maria Henao Restrepo, co-lead of the WHO’s R&D Blueprint for epidemics. In our experience it is between 20 to 50 people, depending on the social network of each case. Statistical analysis of how many contacts subsequently become infected should allow researchers to calculate how well the vaccines work.

The current risk of imported cases of Legionnaires’ is low, but health care providers should be on the lookout for new cases.

In addition to avoiding areas where there are known outbreaks, there are ways to keep yourself safe from Marburg virus, the CDC said. Avoid contact with blood and bodily fluids from people who are sick. If attending a funeral for someone who has died from the disease, take care not to touch the body. Also avoid contact with fruit bats and primates in areas where there are outbreaks, since both animals are known to be carriers for the virus.

Marburg virus is not contagious until symptoms appear. These can include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms and unexplained bleeding.

It can spread through contact with an infected person’s blood and other body fluids or through fluids from infected animals. It doesn’t spread like the Covid-19 virus.

There is no treatment for the disease. The CDC says that intensive supportive care can keep people out of the hospital.

In March, the CDC warned travelers to Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania to avoid contact with sick people and to monitor their health for three weeks after visiting those countries. The agency posted notices in international airports reminding people to watch for symptoms and to see a doctor immediately if they feel sick. It’s also sending text messages to travelers who have been in those countries.

The ministry of health of the nation announced an epidemic in the northwest of the country. Five people have died and eight have been lab-confirmed as of April 5.

The CDC said there is no evidence to suggest that the two outbreaks are related. Some experts agree that these cases are spillovers of animal to human events.