A train station platform was sealed off amid fears the deadly and incurable Marburg Virus had reached Europe. 36 people have contracted the virus in Rwanda – the first outbreak of the disease in the country – with officials trying to trace more than 400 people who had been in contact with the patients.
Marburg is similar to Ebola and causes people to haemorrhage – with an 88% fatality rate. There is no vaccine and no cure. On Wednesday, a train station platform was sealed off in Hamburg, Germany, after passengers fell ill on the journey.
A fire department spokesman said the man and his girlfriend developed flu-like symptoms on a train from Frankfurt. They had gone to Germany from another country where they had been treating a man who went on to develop an infectious disease.
The man, who was reported to be a medical student, had arrived in Frankfurt from Rwanda on Wednesday morning. The man and his girlfriend were taken to a specialist clinic by police and firefighters.
Platform four was closed for a time before it was allowed to reopen.
Eight people have so far died in the Rwanda outbreak, with the World Health Organisation telling people not to visit the country. At least one of those being traced was known to have left Rwanda.
Many of the cases are in or around Kigali, the country’s capital and a major international transport hub.
Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a severe and often deadly hemorrhagic fever caused by the Marburg virus, which is closely related to the Ebola virus. Both belong to the Filoviridae family of viruses. The Marburg virus was first identified in 1967 when outbreaks occurred simultaneously in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Belgrade (Serbia).
These outbreaks were linked to laboratory workers who had been exposed to infected monkeys imported from Uganda. The virus spreads to humans from animals such as fruit bats, which are believed to be the natural reservoir. Human-to-human transmission occurs through direct contact with bodily fluids like blood, saliva, or vomit from infected individuals, as well as through contaminated surfaces or materials like bedding.
The symptoms of MVD are similar to those of Ebola and include:
- Fever
- Severe headache
- Muscle pain
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Unexplained bleeding or bruising (hemorrhaging)
- Severe headache
- Muscle pain
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Unexplained bleeding or bruising (hemorrhaging)
Symptoms can appear suddenly after an incubation period of 2 to 21 days. There is no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for MVD, though supportive care (rehydration, treatment of specific symptoms) significantly improves survival rates.
Experimental vaccines and treatments are under development, and prompt medical intervention can reduce the fatality rate.