The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of the first confirmed marburg virus disease outbreak in the Republic of Rwanda.
The CDC has issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory to alert clinicians and health departments of the outbreak, saying 36 laboratory confirmed cases and 11 deaths have been reported in Rwanda as of Oct. 2. At least 19 of those cases involve healthcare workers.
No cases of MVD related to this outbreak have been reported in the U.S. or other countries to date, the CDC said. But countries should be on alert in case of any potential imported cases.
“MVD is a rare but highly fatal viral hemorrhagic fever caused by infection with one of two zoonotic viruses, Marburg virus or Ravn virus,” said the CDC. “Both Marburg virus and Ravn virus are within the virus family Filoviridae, which also includes Ebola viruses.”
Symptoms of MVD include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms, or unexplained bleeding, according to the CDC. It is spread through bodily fluids – such as blood, urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, amniotic fluid, or semen — of an infected person or someone who has recently died from the disease, according to the CDC.
People can also contract MVD through infected animals or contaminated objects like needles.
A person with MVD is not contagious until they experience symptoms, the CDC says.
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The CDC says physicians should look out for signs of MVD in ill people who have recently traveled to an area with an outbreak. Patients with exposure risks should be isolated until they produce a negative MVD result.
People who plan to travel to an at-risk area such as Rwanda should avoid contact with blood and bodily fluids of people who are sick, avoid participating in funerals or burials of someone with confirmed or suspected MVD, and avoid contact with cave-dwelling fruit bats and non-human primates, the CDC says.
People who suspect they may have MVD should isolate from friends and family and seek immediate medical care.
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