A platform of the central station in Hamburg, Germany, isolated for several hours, teams of police and firefighters on the field, platform closed until the end of operations. The intervention was triggered following a Marburg alarm. The virus has been in the international spotlight for a couple of days, since – as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) – at the end of September Rwanda reported its first outbreak and is struggling to contain the disease. And it is precisely for a passenger from the African country who developed symptoms while traveling that, according to media reports, checks began in Hamburg.
The fear was that the person, a 26-year-old medical student, could be a carrier of the dangerous virus which in Rwanda already has 26 confirmed cases and 8 deaths, according to the toll updated a few days ago. 70% of the patients intercepted in Rwanda are health workers from two health facilities in Kigali. And, as reported by a fire brigade spokesperson to ‘Bild’, it seems that the boy who developed, together with his girlfriend, flu-like symptoms on a high-speed train coming from Frankfurt had cared for a patient in Rwanda who had developed an infectious disease. There aren’t many details, but the couple had arrived in Frankfurt by plane from the African country. The police and fire brigade team that intervened took the two to a specialist clinic.
In Rwanda, following the discovery of the outbreak, contact tracing of cases is underway, with around 300 cases under follow-up. The fear is that there could be further spread of a serious infection like this.
What the virus causes and how to defend yourself
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent, can cause hemorrhagic fever, and is clinically similar to diseases such as Ebola. There is currently no treatment or vaccine available. “This is why – highlighted the WHO in the alert on the cases in Rwanda – it is important that people who show symptoms seek timely care for supportive treatment that can improve their survival”. The WHO currently assesses the risk of this epidemic as “very high at the national level, high at the regional level and low at the global level”.
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