The Valencian Community activates the protocol in the event of a suspected case of Marburg virus – community

The Valencian Community activated the protocol on Friday in the event of a suspected case suffering from Marburg virus disease, COPE has learned and Ángel Expósito is presenting in La Linterna. It would be a 34-year-old man, who was recently in Equatorial Guinea, over a period of time that could correspond to the incubation and progression of the disease. The Valencian Generalitat Health Department confirmed that the patient had been transferred from a private hospital and admitted to the high-level isolation unit of La Fe Hospital in Valencia. The patient’s biological samples were sent to the reference laboratory of the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid for analysis and possible confirmation of the case.

On February 13, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) and health authorities in Equatorial Guinea reported an outbreak of Marburg disease after 9 people died. This is the first time this virus has been detected in Equatorial Guinea.

Marburg, Ebola’s first cousin

Covid may, at this moment, be the most “famous” virus worldwide, but it is not the only virus spreading on Earth and complicating human life. If we look at the WHO page on disease outbreaks, we find that measles has made a comeback in Paraguay; There is bird flu in Ecuador. monkeypox – now called monkeypox – in 30 countries spread over five continents; Ebola virus in Sudan and Uganda, yellow fever in 13 African countries – not to mention cholera, scarlet fever or dengue fever, which are still active in different parts of the planet. And if all this were not enough, the World Health Organization has just met urgently to assess the outbreak of Marburg disease in Equatorial Guinea, in the province of Qui Ntim, to the west of the continental part of the African country, on the borders with Cameroon and Gabon.

Thus, the Marburg virus is practically a “twin” organism, but at the same time different from the Ebola virus; Both of them cause diseases with similar clinical characteristics because they belong to the family of Filoviridae, that is, they are filoviruses that cause bleeding and multi-organ failure, and their mortality is high.

Marburg begins suddenly with “high fever, severe headache, severe malaise, and muscle aches. On the third day, severe watery diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps, nausea, and vomiting may appear. The diarrhea may last up to a week. At this point, patients have a ‘ghost appearance’ due to sunken eyes, and facial expressions and extreme lethargy, as the World Health Organization describes.

Listen live COPE, Radio’s Best Callers. If you wish, you can download the COPE app to iOS And android.

And remember, at COPE you’ll find the best analysis of current events, our communication keys to understanding everything around you, the best stories, entertainment, and above all, those voices you can’t find anywhere else.