Health
Marburg Virus: Symptoms, Treatment, Transmission, And More Details
(CTN News) – Two cases of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease similar to Ebola, were officially confirmed by Ghana’s health authorities on Sunday.
World Health Organisation (WHO) earlier this month confirmed the results of the two cases Of Marburg Virus Outbreaks.
A 26-year-old man checked into a hospital on June 26 and died a day later, according to WHO. Another 51-year-old man was reported as the second case. A man was hospitalized on June 28 and died the next day.
It should be noted that this is not the first time the disease has been detected in West Africa. There has been no report of the deadly virus since last year, when the first case was confirmed in Guinea.
Must Read: 2 Dead As Ghana Confirms Its First Outbreak Of The Deadly Marburg Virus
What is the Marburg Virus disease?
A viral hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus is clinically similar to Ebola virus disease, according to WHO.
A simultaneous outbreak of the virus occurred in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, and in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1967.
Symptoms Of Marburg virus disease
In describing the symptoms of the deadly virus, WHO said that it causes high fever, severe headaches, and severe malaise. It is also common to suffer from muscle pains and aches as a result of this illness.
Symptoms of the Marburg virus include:
- Severe watery diarrhoea
- Abdominal pain and cramping
- Nausea and vomiting (Mostly begins on the third day)
A Marburg virus infection can take between two and 21 days to incubate. The disease has an average fatality rate of 50 percent, according to the health organization. In some cases, however, fatalities can range from 24 percent to 88 percent.
Diagonosis and treament
Despite its difficulty in clinically distinguishing Marburg virus disease from other infectious diseases due to its general symptoms, the following diagnostic methods can be used to confirm the diagnosis:
- Antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
- Antigen detection tests
- Serum neutralization tests
- Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay
- Virus isolation by cell culture
- Electron microscopy
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