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Luanda, Angola (pte021/11.05.2005/11:23) - Marburg haemorrhagic fever, which first only infected children under five, has now spread to the adult population of northern Angola. The first cases were identified in March this year. Teams from WHO - World Health Organisation http://www.who.int/en/ and Médecins Sans Frontières - MSF http://www.msf.org have been trying to combat the virus, which has rapidly spread over the last month.
However, there is no cure and no vaccine for the Marburg virus, which is related to the deadly Ebola virus, and doctors and health officials fear that the number of infections could rise if precautions are not taken and carried out. An incubation of five to 10-days leads to fever, diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea and muscle pains. Victims die from bleeding and multiple organ failure, which usually occurs three to seven days after the onset of the symptoms.
It is thought that the virus may have originally spread through unsafe practices such as use of unsterile needles. Now, though, it is feared that it is rapidly spreading through human-to-human contact, which is increasingly occurring during the ritual burials that are carried out.
MSF is trying to treat patients, but the numbers of the infected are rising. According to the figures from May 7 there have been 311 cases in Uige, a province of Angola, of which 271 have been fatal.
An epidemiologist from the Paris-based Epicentre Evelyn Depoortere says that details about the virus are still vague. "We can't say if the outbreak is slowing down or not," said Depoortere. "At this point it's really difficult to have all the information."
Meanwhile, the Red Cross in Lusaka, Zambia, also announced a Marburg alert after a man who visited Angola died of what appeared to be Marburg symptoms.
WHO, MSF, other agencies and Angola health officials are currently training health care staff and educating villagers. "We feel it's very important to be very present in the community raising awareness so people have confidence in medical teams and the system so they continue to be alert for cases and are not afraid to come to the hospital," said Depoortere.
So far killing over 90 per cent of its victims, the Marburg virus appears to be even deadlier than Ebola, according to WHO.
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