Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier says the Marburg virus is ‘similar’ to Ebola and that the World Health Organization has assigned it a 50% mortality rate. Amid reports of a deadly viral outbreak in Central Africa, researchers are reportedly scrambling to develop treatments and vaccines to combat the Marburg virus .
As of Sept. 30, 2024, the country of Rwanda — which is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — has reported 27 cases of the virus and nine subsequent deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most of the cases have affected health care workers at two health facilities in the city of Kigali, the same source stated.
CDC WARNS US PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS OF EBOLA-LIKE DISEASE The patients are being cared for in hospitals, as noted by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sept. 29. The virus is spread by the Egyptian fruit bat (Egyptian rousette bat), which is found in both Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, per the CDC.
(Getty Images) "Contact tracing is underway, with 300 contacts under follow-up," WHO stated. This is the first time the Marburg virus has been reported in Rwanda. What is the Marburg virus? Similar to Ebola, Marburg is a "rare but severe hemorrhagic fever" that can cause "serious illness and death," with a 20% to 90% fatality rate.
There have not been any confirmed cases in the United States, and the CDC says the risk of infection in the country is low. MARBUR.