What is the Marburg virus, the Ebola-like outbreak now confirmed in Ghana?

Subject: Science and tech

Section:

Context: The first two cases of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious Ebola-like disease, have been confirmed officially by Ghana

What is the Marburg virus disease?

It is earlier known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever and it is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic fever
Marburg, like Ebola, is a filovirus; and both diseases are clinically similar
Rousettus fruit-bats are considered the natural hosts for Marburg virus
However, African green monkeys imported from Uganda were the source of the first human infection
It was first detected in 1967 after simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany; and in Belgrade, Serbia
The disease has an average fatality rate of around 50%

What are the symptoms of Marburg virus disease?

Onset of symptoms, which can begin anytime between 2 to 21 days
It can manifest itself in the form of high fever, muscle aches and severe headache, abdominal pain, vomiting, severe watery diarrhoea and cramping, bleeding from nose, gums and blood appearing in vomits and faeces

How can Marburg virus disease be diagnosed and treated?

It is difficult to clinically distinguish MVD from diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and other viral haemorrhagic fevers
However, it is confirmed by lab testing of samples
There is noapproved antiviral treatment or vaccine for MVD as of now.
Rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids and treatment of specific symptoms can help prevent death.

Ebola Virus:

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a deadly disease with occasional outbreaks that occur mostly on the African continent.
EVD most commonly affects people and non human primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).
It is caused by an infection with a group of viruses within the genus Ebolavirus
Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The virus first spreads to people through direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of animals.
Ebola virus then spreads to other people through direct contact with body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from EVD.

Causes for the Zoonotic disease outbreaks in Africa:

Major zoonotic diseases include Ebola,monkeypox, anthrax andplague.
There has been a 63 per cent increase in the number of zoonotic outbreaks in Africa from 2012-2022 compared to 2001-2011, according to World Health Organisation (WHO)
Growth in urbanisation and encroachment on natural habitats of the region’s wildlife.
Increasing demand to fulfill food demand for the growing population has increased the risk of ‘zoonotic disease outbreaks’
Improvement of transport infrastructure, which includes improved road, rail and airlinks, has removed the natural barrier that poor transportation infrastructure provided
This has also contributed to the spread of zoonotic disease outbreaks from remote to urban areas