Uganda's Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said that in September a male fell ill after hunting in a cave where a lot of fruit bats lived. The symptoms looked like those of the Marburg virus, however, no blood samples were taken. The condition of a contracted person is characterized by muscle pains, fever, vomiting, diarrhea and severe bleeding through body openings like ears and eyes.
On October 11 his sister, a 50-year-old woman, passed away suffering the same signs of a disease. She looked after her brother and could most probably get infected during burial rituals. A series of tests proved a suspected cause of death.
Deadly #Marburg virus kills two in #Kween district, govt confirms https://t.co/pQexL3Yt27 pic.twitter.com/QtO1GYpYn1
— Inko'Tanyi (@stephenkmuneza) October 19, 2017
The Marburg virus spreads from human to human through contact with body liquids, with a fatality rate of about 80 percent. The epidemic usually starts when a contaminated animal such as a fruit bat or monkey contacts a person. Animals carrying the Marburg virus show practically no signs of the illness.
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The Marburg virus belongs to the family of hemorrhagic fevers as well as Ebola, which has killed more than a thousand people in Africa since 1976.
The World Health Organization staff is making efforts to contain the current outbreak in Uganda.
