- Ugandan authorities have issued health alert after two suspected cases of Marburg haemorrhagic fever were reported in the country. Marburg is a virus similar to the deadly Ebola, which is still without a cure.
The suspected cases were reported among mine workers in the western Kamwenge district, 250 km from the capital Kampala. The place is close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ugandan health authorities said there should little cause for alarm because they have moved fast to counter its possible escalation. One such step was to team up with experts of World Health Organisation to embark on tracing the routes taken by a 22-year-old man victim of the disease.
Efforts have also been done to trace all potential contacts with the two cases for further investigations and tests.
The results of the first test was positive but Ugandans awaits that of the confirmatory test on Thursday.
The Director of General Health Services, Dr. Sam Zaramba, issued a statement on issue.
“It’s most probably the Marburg virus. We thought we should send out this information early enough”, he said.
Ugandan officials asked the public to alert any suspected cases to the health authorities.
Like Ebola, Marburg virus is a severe and highly deadly disease that transmits through close contact with blood and other body fluids. Sudden bleeding and high fever are among its signs and symptoms.
The disease is considered epidemic even if it kills or affects an individual.
In 2000, Ebola epidemic broke out in northern Uganda, claiming the lives of 170 of the 428 infected.
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