After two deadly outbreaks of the rare Marburg virus disease in Africa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning US doctors to be on the lookout for patients exhibiting symptoms.
In the agency’s health advisory issued Thursday, officials urged clinicians to be vigilant due to the “potential for imported cases.” There are no reported US cases of the virus, and the risk here is low, the CDC said.
Officials recommend doctors assess patients for hemorrhagic fevers that can be caused by the Marburg and Ravn viruses, which are fueling two seemingly independent outbreaks in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.
“Early identification of MVD or other viral hemorrhagic fevers is important for providing appropriate and prompt patient care and preventing the spread of infection,” the agency stated.
This year’s outbreak of Marburg virus disease, closely related to Ebola, was first reported in Equatorial Guinea in February as a cluster of deaths suspected to be caused by a viral hemorrhagic fever. As of Wednesday, 14 MVD cases have been identified in the country including 10 fatalities.
In March, an outbreak was declared in Tanzania, where there have been eight reported cases, including five fatalities.
Both countries had never experienced an outbreak of Marburg virus, and the origin of these cases is unclear, per the CDC.
The disease is considered one of the deadliest — more so than its pathogenic cousin Ebola. The CDC estimates a mortality rate of up to 90% if the disease progresses, but early intervention and intensive care could lower it.
Infection — via broken skin or mucus membranes — is known to occur through contact with bodily fluids of a person who is sick or has died from the disease, as well as the bodily fluids of infected animals or contaminated needles.
There is currently no vaccine and no treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration for MVD.
Symptoms include fever, chills, headache and body aches. A rash is typically observed in patients after five days of symptoms, and those infected may also experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chest pain, stomach pain and a sore throat.
Severe symptoms also include jaundice, weight loss, liver failure, shock, delirium, multi-organ dysfunction and internal bleeding.
The CDC recommends the general public living in or traveling to regions where the virus could be present avoid coming into contact with bodily fluids of sick people.
The agency also advises against attending funerals or burials in those regions that involve touching the body of someone who potentially died from MVD.
Upon returning from areas of outbreak, the CDC advises people to monitor their health for 21 days, the incubation period of the virus.
In February, the World Health Organization called an emergency meeting after nine deaths were reported due to highly-infectious MVD, and on April 1, CDC sent personnel from the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases to outbreak sites in an attempt to curb the spread.