which is the highly infectious viral disease that causes haemorrhagic fever with high fatality?
Answers
Marburg virus, which causes Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF), and Ebola virus are the two members of the Filoviridae family that can cause outbreaks with high fatality rates. This disease was first identified in 1967 after the outbreaks in Marburg, Frankfurt and Belgrade. Travelers are at low risk of infection, but occasionally these viruses can be imported into non-endemic countries.
In Africa, some species of bats are considered natural hosts for Marburg virus. During the first Marburg outbreak, the etiology of human infection was traced to the laboratory handling of African green monkeys imported from Uganda. Since then, some outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in several countries such as Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. In 2008, two cases of MHF were reported in travelers; the infection was acquired as a result of exposure to caves inhabited by bats in Uganda. Transmission is mainly caused through direct contact with body fluids of infected persons. Also, transmission by infected semen can occur as well as transmission to health care workers while administering treatments to infected patients.
After the incubation period (which ranges from 2 to 21 days), MHF begins suddenly with fever, headache and malaise, myalgia, arthralgia, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, conjunctiva injection and a relative bradycardia. Most of the patients develop severe hemorrhagic features in multiple body parts between 5-7 days. Around the fifth day, a maculo-papular rash could also be seen. Involvement of the CNS can result in irritability and confusion.