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The outbreak of the deadly Marbrg virus, similar to Ebola, is causing serious concern to the WHO (World Health Organization). In Belgium, the authorities are calling on the population to be vigilant.
The Dutch-speaking Belgian university KU Leuven has notably repatriated two students from Rwanda, where the epidemic has already claimed the lives of 11 people. The Belgian government invites everyone who has travelled to the country and is returning to Belgium to monitor their symptoms and, if necessary, consult a health professional. A decision supported by the infectiologist at the Ghent University Hospital, Steven Callens, who points out that this new virus is extremely deadly, “transmissible only by bodily fluids such as blood, vomit and diarrhoea”, indicates the media Sudinfo .
In the absence of vaccines and treatments, the infectiologist specifies that mortality can be reduced to 20% if intensive care is provided quickly. The situation can become complicated in hospitals affected by precarious hygiene conditions.
How does the Marburg virus manifest itself? Through muscle pain, fever and, when it develops rapidly, severe hemorrhages as well as organ failure leading to “death within a week without treatment”, underlines Sudinfo . These symptoms are observable between 2 and 21 days following infection.
And while the outbreak is unlikely to reach Europe, the WHO has raised concerns about the lethality of the virus and the lack of treatment. In an outbreak in Angola in 2005, mortality rates reached 88%.
