Marburg Virus: A Rare Animal-Borne Haemorrhagic Fever - Essay Sample

Introduction

A virus is a microscopic parasite that can't reproduce by itself, but instead, after infecting a living cell, it produces identical viruses inside that cell. According to (Gelderblom 1996), infections are small obligate intercellular parasites, which by definition, contain either RNA or DNA genome surrounded by a protective, virus-coded protein coat. Marburg virus is a rare haemorrhagic fever which attacks both human and animals, and it is animal-borne. It belongs to the same family with the Ebola virus family filoviridae. It originated from animals and later transmitted to human beings. It is a fatal illness, and it causes hemorrhagic fever in humans. It is transmitted from one human being to another through blood and other body fluids.

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Background

Marburg virus originated from an illness that infected African green monkeys. These African green monkeys came from Uganda, and they were being used to study the vaccine for polio. The virus also transmitted from bats (African fruit bat and Rousettus bat). Rousettus bats are the real carriers of the Marburg virus, and the distribution of the infection is dependent on the variation of the bats. The discovery of the Marburg virus began in Marburg, Germany, in 1967, after a massive outbreak in this area, and that is how it acquired the name Marburg virus. The people in this area showed similar signs and symptoms of fever, nausea, bleeding diarrhoea, and failure of some body's systems, and some led to death-the virus transmitted from the animals to human beings who spread to each other. The virus infected 31 humans in Germany, and seven were reported dead.

Between 1975 and 1982, there was a discovery of six cases in some of the African countries, which are Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Kenya. Those infected in these countries were travellers and health care workers. Later in 1998, there was a massive outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that resulted from gold mining activities. The infected human in Congo were 154 with 128 death cases. The last enormous outbreak was reported in Angola from October 2004 to November 2005, with more than 370 people infected and 320 0f these people died. The most current outbreaks have happened in Uganda in 2012, where 15 people were affected, and four of them died. Later in 2014, a health worker died of the virus in the same country, and the people who interacted with the health care worker quarantined for more observation.

Prevalence of the Virus

Marburg virus is a common disease globally. In Africa, it affected the following countries; Kenya, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Congo, and South Africa. The most significant percentage of patients that died of the virus came from Africa. The cases of Marburg outside Africa were very few, and they resulted from tourists who had visited Africa. These nations are Germany and the Netherlands.

Signs and Symptoms of the Virus

The Marburg virus takes 2 to 21 days to exhibit symptoms, and the disease starts unexpectedly with the following symptoms:

• High fever, severe headache, and severe malaise that begin suddenly.
• A characteristic feature of muscle pain and aches
• Watery diarrhoea that could persist for a week
• Pains and cramps in the abdomen.
• Nausea and vomiting were likely to begin three days after incubation.
• Ghostlike appearance with deep-set eyes.

Sign and symptoms exhibited were similar to symptoms of infectious diseases like malaria, and hence it is difficult to diagnose the disease at that early stage.

Between 5- and 7-days, symptoms become more severe because patients experience bleeding from many areas. There were bloodstains during vomiting and in the stool, as well as bleeding nose, gum, and vagina. At this stage, the patient loses a lot of body fluids, and there is a likelihood of being dehydrated, and the high fever is maintained. It is cases where central nervous is involved; the patient becomes confused aggressive and gets irritated quickly. In some cases, death may occur between 8 and 9 days due to excessive blood loss and shock. For men, swelling of testicles started to show after 15 days.

The Marburg virus persists in people who have been infected before in body parts such as eyes and testicles. For the expectant women, they continue in the womb while for lactating women, the virus continues in the breast milk.

Treatment Plan

Treatment of Marburg disease not yet proven, and hence there are no drugs and vaccines available. There have been supportive care to reduce dehydration from lost blood and fluids. There are potential treatments, such as blood products and therapies that are under evaluation. Some medications have been tested on monkeys and proven successful but not yet tested on human beings.

Preventive Measures

Since there is no specific treatment for Marburg virus, nations and organizations have come up with ways of controlling infections to reduce death cases. The virus control is a success if the community is involved.

Creation of Isolation Centres

The virus is transmitted from one person to another through body fluids, and hence close contact with infected people can cause transmission. Creating isolation centres helps to separate patients from other people, and it will help reduce the risk of human to human communication in society. People should always embrace cleanliness, especially when visiting the patient and ear gloves and other personal protective equipment.

Reduction of the Animal to Human Transmission

Bat to human transmission arises from continuous interaction with mines and cave where the fruit bats live. People working in the mines and tourists visiting caves should wear gloves and protective equipment to avoid direct contact with the cave animals. Animal products should also be thoroughly cleaned and cooked during outbreaks to reduce spreading. Once people are careful with animal interaction will reduce the cases that arise from animal-human transmission.

Creating Awareness

Countries affected by the Marburg virus should equip people with adequate information concerning the disease. Informing people concerning the signs and symptoms of the illness helps take immediate action if they may experience any of those symptoms. People should also learn concerning outbreak containment. Raising awareness of risk factors for Marburg infection and protective measures that individuals can take is an effective way to reduce human transmission (W.H.O, 2O17).

Reduction of Sexual Transmission

Marburg virus transmits through secretion of body fluids sex being part of it. Survivors from the Marburg virus should undergo counselling and training on how to protect their beloved ones from the disease. Male survivors should practice protected sex until their semen proven free from the virus.

Control of Infection in Health Care Facilities

Workers need to be very careful and take precautions when handling patients, even though there is no diagnosis of Marburg disease. The precautions include proper hygiene and personal protection, as well as the appropriate injection and burying of the dead bodies. The workers that are infected should be conscientious when handling patients' blood and other fluids.

Conclusion

Marburg haemorrhagic fever virus is a fatal disease that affects both human and inhuman inmates. It is an animal-borne disease that came from African green monkeys and Rousettus bats from Africa. It was first discovered in 1967 in Marburg in Germany, where the name Marburg virus originated. It later spread to other parts of the world and majorly in Africa. The virus is transmitted from one person to another through body fluids. The most significant percentage of those infected by the virus die. Those who survive the illness persists in some of the body parts such as eyes, testicles, breasts, and womb.

The signs exhibited by Marburg virus are identical to the signs of infectious diseases, which makes it difficult to diagnose. Some of these symptoms are fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, and sometimes bleeding. Severe cases may alter the central nervous system, and others may lead to death. There is no proven treatment for the virus, although there is some potential treatment under evaluation. Prevention and control reduce the spread of the virus. These measures include: isolation of the infected patients to prevent human to human transmission, creating awareness to the community concerning the disease, use of glove and personal protective equipment, and safe sex and hygiene for the survivors.

References

Brauburger, K. et al. (2012). Forty-five years of Marburg virus research. Retrieved from: www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses

Gelderblom, H. R. (2015). Structure and classification of viruses. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publiction/50410801

World Health Organization (2017). Marburg virus disease. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factssheets/fsmarburg/en/