Wetin be Marburg virus wey kill six for Rwanda

Rwanda health ministry don announce say six pipo don die for one outbreak of Marburg virus for di kontri.

Di kontri health minister, Sabin Nsanzimana, say most of di victims na healthcare workers wey dey for di intensive care unit.

So far dem don identify twenty cases since dem confam di outbreak on Friday.

Marburg, wit death rate of up to 88%, come from di same virus family wit Ebola.

E dey spread from bats to humans and also if you come into contact wit bodily fluids of pesin wey get di infection.

Symptoms of Marburg include fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and, for some cases, pesin fit die sake of extreme blood loss.

So far, dem neva get any specific treatments or vaccine for di virus but World Health Organization say dem try develop some kain blood products, drug and immune therapies.

Rwanda say e dey do serious contact tracing or trying to trace all di pipo wey bin come in contact wit pipo wey get di infection.

Dem say dem dey also do surveillance and testing to help reduce di spread.

So wetin pesin fit do to protect imsef?

Authorities say make everybodi shine eye, wash dia hand wit soap and clean water or sanitiser and report any case wey dem suspect.

But wetin be dis Marburg virus? How you go take sabi di symptoms? And how dangerous e dey?

Wetin be Marburg virus?

Dem bin first trace di Marburg virus to African green monkey

Di first time dem discova Marburg virus na for 1967 afta e infect 31 pipo, kill seven for three outbreaks wey bin happun at di same time for Marburg and Frankfurt for Germany and Belgrade for Serbia.

Na two pipo carry di virus go back Europe afta dem two bin go expeditions for some caves for Uganda.

Dat time, authorities bin trace di virus to Africa green monkey wey dem bin import from Uganda.

But since den, dem don link di virus to oda animals too.

Na mostly pipo wey don spend long time inside cave and mines wey get bats, na dem dey spread am.

In recent years, kontris like Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe don also get outbreaks of Marburg virus.

Symptoms of Marburg virus infection

Marburg virus wey dey similar to Ebola dey highly infectious.

Some of im symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and, in some cases, death sake of extreme blood loss.

Di virus infection dey suddenly begin wit:

fever

severe headache

muscle pains

Afta dis three symptoms, three days later e go follow wit:

watery diarrhoea

stomach pain

nausea

vomiting

According to WHO, ‘Di way pipo go take look wen dem reach dis stage, na say dem go resemble “ghost, wit drawn face, eyes wey don sink enter inside, no expression for dia face, and dem go dey look extremely lifeless”.

Many pipo go den start to bleed from different parts of dia bodi, and some go die eight to nine days afta dem first fall sick, sake of extreme loss of blood and shock.

Egyptian rousette fruit bat na one main carrier of di virus

How dangerous e be?

Hundreds of pipo don die from di virus in recent years, and most of dem na for Africa.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), di virus dey kill half of di pipo wey e infect, wit previous outbreaks killing between 24% and 88% of patients.

One outbreak for 2005 wey happun for Angola kill more dan 300 pipo. Di highest recorded death from di virus.

For March 2023 five pipo die for Tanzania, three odas collect treatment, while authorities try trace 161 contacts.

Dis na afta one outbreak occur for Equatorial Guinea for February dat same year. E infect nine pipo, kill three. WHO bin investigate 20 more probable cases for dia.

Oda major outbreaks include: