Muscat: The Ministry of Health stressed the importance of postponing travel at the present time to countries affected by Marburg virus disease, except when absolutely necessary.
Dr. Amal Bint Saif Al-Maani, Director General of Disease Surveillance and Control at the Ministry of Health, stressed to Oman News Agency (ONA) the importance of (arriving) travelers isolating themselves from others and going to the nearest medical care institution (emergency departments in the medical care facility) if they develop fever, chills, muscle pain, rash, sore throat and diarrhea Weakness, vomiting, stomach pain, unexplained bleeding from anywhere, or bruising during or after travel (up to 21 days), and informing a doctor that they have been to an area with Marburg virus disease.
She told Oman News Agency (ONA) that community participation is the main key to successfully controlling outbreaks by raising awareness of the risk factors for Marburg virus infection and the preventive measures that individuals can take, as it represents an effective way to reduce the transmission of infection between humans.
She indicated that Marburg virus disease (MVD), or formerly known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever, is caused by a virus from the Violafridi family called Marburg virus. This virus is similar to the Ebola virus and can cause bleeding, fever, and other symptoms similar to Ebola virus disease.
She added that Marburg virus disease was discovered for the first time in 1967, in the cities of Marburg and Frankfurt and the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, where this virus was discovered among laboratory workers who were exposed to the tissues of infected African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) imported from Uganda.
Concerning the transmission of the disease, concerned Dr. Amal indicated that the transmission of the virus between humans requires close contact with an infected person, as the virus does not transmit between humans during its incubation period, indicating that the incubation period ranges from two to 21 days.
She explained that a person can become infected by coming into contact with the patient's blood or other body fluids (faeces, vomit, urine, saliva, and respiratory secretions) that contain the virus in high concentrations. The virus can also be transmitted through semen. The virus was discovered in the semen of infected patients after their clinical recovery from the disease. over a period of seven weeks.
And she indicated that the ability of infected people to transmit infection increases as their disease develops, and that ability reaches its peak during the severe disease stage, where the disease can be transmitted through the use of injection equipment contaminated with the virus or exposure to needles contaminated with it, and leads to the occurrence of more severe cases and the rapid deterioration of the health condition and an increase in the possibility of death.
She stated that the signs and symptoms of Marburg virus disease in humans begin suddenly with a severe headache and severe malaise. Among its common symptoms are muscle aches and pains, and the patient usually experiences a high fever on the first day of his infection, followed by a gradual and rapid weakness.
The patient suffers from severe watery diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps, nausea and vomiting, and the diarrhea can last a whole week. And the seventh day of the onset of symptoms on them, Dr. Amal said.
She indicated that severe hemorrhagic symptoms appear on many patients between the fifth and seventh day, as fatal cases are usually characterized by a form of bleeding from several sites, and it is noticeable that the presence of blood in vomit and stool is often accompanied by bleeding from the nose, gums, and vagina.
And it showed that the continuation of high fever during the severe stage of the disease may affect the central nervous system, and it has been reported sometimes that cases of orchitis occurred in the late stages of the disease (the fifteenth day) and in fatal cases death occurs during the period Between the eighth and ninth day after the onset of symptoms.
She pointed out that it may be difficult to distinguish clinically between Marburg virus disease and other infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, meningitis and other viral hemorrhagic fevers, noting that it is confirmed that symptoms are caused by Marburg virus infection using diagnostic methods through IgG and antibody testing. IgM, RT-PCR assay, virus isolation and electron microscopy.
She said that all age groups are vulnerable to infection, but it is noticeable that most cases occurred in adults and before the Angolan outbreak, cases affecting children were very rare, in the outbreak that occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1998 and 2000, which is the largest reported outbreak before the outbreak in Angola Only 12 cases were recorded among children under the age of five.
Dr. Amal, stated that there is no test available to detect infection while a person is in the incubation period, so the disease can be diagnosed as soon as signs and symptoms appear, and there are currently no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments for this virus. However, supportive care and symptomatic treatment may help the patient improve.
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