A health alert has been issued for travelers worldwide amid the escalating spread of Marburg, Mpox, and Oropouche viruses in more than 17 countries. Marburg, infamously known as the “bleeding eye virus,” has killed 15 people in Rwanda, with hundreds more suspected to be infected.This very virulent virus has a scary mortality rate of 50-50%, and people have concerns that it will cross the border into the surrounding African nations, which already face many outbreaks. Marburg is another viral hemorrhagic fever caused by blood vessel damage leading to bleeding; it falls in the same category as the Ebola virus family.Another concerning virus is Mpox, which is a viral disease that presents as a painful rash with fever and swollen lymph nodes caused by the monkeypox virus. The virus is transferred from one person to another by close contact, or via contaminated objects and animals.The rare Marburg virus was first found in 1967. It was identified when people working in labs in Marburg (Germany) and Belgrade got sick and died after touching infected monkeys.The Marburg virus typically spreads through contact with infected fruit bats. It spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people.According to WHO (World Health Organization) the symptoms of the virus are, fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss. It causes deadly haemorrhagic fever, and kills upto 88 out of 100 infected people. It has been categorized into the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease.WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has informed that, WHO is extending it’s support to Rwanda to prevent the spread of the Marburg virus. They’re working closely with the Rwandan government to provide necessary assistance. They will provide transporting samples to a regional reference laboratory for confirmation and delivering laboratory testing kits and personal protective equipment.To prevent the spread of Marburg virus, people are being adviced to avoid touching each other. This is because the virus spreads through direct contact with infected people’s blood, fluids, and contaminated surfaces.
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