Cases have been detected in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention caveat Thursday, U.S. clinicians and public health departments should pay attention to a rare Ebola-like virus case.
The alert is in response to outbreaks of Marburg disease in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, neither of which reported an outbreak earlier this year.
So far, no cases have been reported in the United States and no other outbreaks have been reported, but the CDC said the alert “provides information about these outbreaks and raises awareness of the risk of imported cases in the United States. ,” he said.
At a press conference on March 21, Tanzania’s Minister of Health said: announced Occurs among fisherman groups. Of the 8 cases, 5 were fatal.
Meanwhile, in Equatorial Guinea, 14 cases have been confirmed since February 7, 10 of whom have died, according to the CDC.
There is currently no evidence that the outbreaks in the two countries are linked, and it appears to be an independent cluster in which the virus shed from animals to humans, the federal health agency said.
Marburg disease is a rare disease caused by the Marburg virus, the so-called cousin of the Ebola virus.
of first case It was identified in a European laboratory worker working with African green monkeys imported from Uganda.
the virus is Spread From animals to humans, or through person-to-person contact by contact with infected blood or other fluids or objects contaminated with those fluids.
According to the CDC, the incubation period (time from infection to onset of symptoms) can last from 2 to 21 days.
humans are not contagious until symptoms These include sudden fever, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms, and unexplained bleeding.
The CDC says that if someone has symptoms and may have been exposed to the virus while in an affected area, such as attending a funeral or visiting a health facility, doctors should screen for illness. It says.
The disease can lead to serious complications such as internal bleeding and organ damage.
“Clinical diagnosis of Marburg disease is difficult,” the CDC said. “Many of the signs and symptoms of MVD are similar to other infections (such as malaria and typhoid fever) and viral hemorrhagic fevers (such as Lassa and Ebola) that may be endemic in the region. One case is involved.”
There is currently no known cure for this disease, with treatments focused on supporting measures such as rebalancing fluids and maintaining oxygen levels and blood pressure.
according to world health organizationIn past epidemics, case fatality rates ranged from 24% to 88%, with an average case fatality rate of 50%.
