A few weeks ago, I wrote about the emergence of Marburg virus in Uganda. Happily however, this outbreak is now contained. Uganda has been clear of Marburg virus after a 42-day surveillance period - a period set forth by the World Health Organization to determine if the virus has been contained or not. Since the initial case of Marburg found in a medical technician in Kampala on September 28th, 197 people have been monitored. 8 of those people had symptoms (such as fever and diarrhea), but these symptoms were later found to be unrelated to Marburg. The quick response of Ugandan health officials have prevented this outbreak from spreading outside of the country.
As a reminder, Marburg virus is one of the deadliest viruses in the world (with fatality rates reported from 25-80%%), and is closely related to Ebola. Like Ebola, it can cause hemorrhagic fever, has an incubation period of 21 days, and is transmitted by bodily fluids.
Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/uganda-declares-itself-free-ebola-marburg-virus-150425184.html
--Andrew Duong
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