The World Faces a New Threat: Marburg Virus

The world is confronted with a new threat: the Marburg virus, which is rapidly spreading and can lead to fatal hemorrhagic fever. The first cases of the disease have been recorded in a country in Eastern Africa, Rwanda. The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed serious concerns regarding this new virus.

Former chief sanitary doctor of Russia, Genadi Onishchenko, has urged Russians to remain vigilant and prepare for a possible incursion of the virus into their country. In the post-Soviet space, precautionary measures are already being tightened. For instance, Kazakhstan's airports have started measuring the temperatures of passengers arriving from regions where cases of the disease have been reported.

Doctor of Biological Sciences, Ancha Baranova, a professor at the School of Systems Biology at George Mason University (Virginia, USA), has discussed with Lenta.ru the dangers of the Marburg virus, cases of infection, and why scientists are hesitant to study it.

What is currently happening in Rwanda? Can we really talk about the threat of a global pandemic?

Ancha Baranova: At this point, 58 cases of Marburg fever have been confirmed, with 13 fatalities. Most of those deceased were employees of the emergency department in the capital, Kigali. The issue is that when the first patient was admitted to the hospital, and subsequently two more, they were treated for malaria for several days and were not isolated from others. These patients were cared for by doctors, and many of them became infected.

As a result, today the majority of patients are part of the medical staff. Panic has erupted in the capital, with people becoming concerned about hygiene practices that are difficult to imagine in northern countries. The outbreak has only been within the hospital, but overall, the infection situation in the city and the republic is calm.

About 300-400 contacts are currently known. Investigations are underway to see if this outbreak could spread to other parts of Africa. I believe that within the next two weeks, or even ten days, the scale of the outbreak will become clearer.

If we're told next time that the number of patients is not 58, but 108, that would be an alarming signal. Conversely, if it is announced that the number of cases is not 58, but let's say, 61, that would be a good sign.

It is noted that some cases have been registered in Europe and the USA.