- Diseases What is the Marburg virus, 'the other Ebola' that has put Equatorial Guinea on alert
Nine days ago, Equatorial Guinea ended an outbreak of Marburg virus similar to Ebola. But the disease could have reached Spain since the Ministry of Health of Cantabria has activated the protocol for hemorrhagic fever before a possible case in a patient admitted to the Santander hospital of Valdecilla and who had recently returned from the African country.
According to EFE sources of Health, this Wednesday was treated in the emergency room of the University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla a middle-aged woman who presented fever, vomiting and headaches, symptoms compatible with this disease, so the protocols were activated and she was put in isolation.
The samples have been sent to the laboratory of the National Microbiology Center of Majadahonda (Madrid), which must determine if it is the Marburg virus.
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What is the Marburg virus, 'the other Ebola' that has put Equatorial Guinea on alert
- Editor: R. R. GARCÍA-ABADILLO Madrid
What is the Marburg virus, 'the other Ebola' that has put Equatorial Guinea on alert
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between February 13 and May 1, there were 17 laboratory-confirmed cases and 23 probable cases, the last reported on April 20.
Like Ebola, Marburg virus causes sudden bleeding and can lead to death within a few days, with an incubation period of 2 to 21 days and a mortality rate of up to 88%.
Fruit bats are the natural hosts of this virus, which when transmitted to humans can be spread through direct contact with fluids such as blood, saliva, vomit or urine.
The disease, for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment, was detected in 1967 in the German city of Marburg – the origin of its name – by laboratory technicians who were infected while investigating monkeys brought from Uganda.
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