Marburg Virus Disease

Why in News?

• Recently six people died in Rwanda due to Marburg virus.

Marburg Virus Disease:

• It was earlier known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever.
• It is a rare but serious haemorrhagic fever.
• It is caused by Marburg virus.
• It is a genetically unique zoonotic RNA virus.
• Both Marburg and Ebola are members of the Filoviridae family (Filovirus).
• The virus is named after the German city of Marburg.
• It was first identified in a laboratory in 1967 in this city.
• The virus can spread from bats to humans.
• It can then spread through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of infected individuals.
• Symptoms -
  • Fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, flat and raised rash, chest pain, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
  • There is currently no treatment or vaccine for Marburg disease
  • The mortality rate in this disease is about 50%.

Rwanda:

• Rwanda is a country located in East Central Africa.
• It is a landlocked country.
• It borders Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Capital - Kigali
• Currency - Rwandan franc