Uganda confirms death by Marburg virus, part of the Ebola family
Kampala/Geneva — Uganda has confirmed one death from Marburg virus, a highly infectious haemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, the health minister said on Thursday. Jane Ruth Aceng told reporters the case, which led to a fatality, had been confirmed after a series of tests were carried out. The East African nation last suffered a Marburg outbreak, which has a high mortality rate, in 2014. Marburg is from the same family of viruses as Ebola, which killed thousands in West Africa in 2014. The victim, a 50-year old woman, died on October 11 at a hospital in eastern Uganda after "she presented with signs and symptoms suggestive of viral haemorrhagic fevers", the minister said. The woman had nursed her 42-year-old brother, who died on September 25 with similar signs and symptoms, and also participated in cultural preparation of the body for burial, she added. Aceng said the man was "a hunter who carried out his activities where there are caves with heavy presence of bats," Aceng said. The ...
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