Travellers have been warned about three potentially deadly viruses after new cases saw the diseases spread to 17 countries – with cases in the UK. Marburg, Mpox and Oropouche continue to spread with the UK Health Security Agency reporting a fifth case of highly infectious Mpox last week in Leeds – in a traveller who had just returned from Africa.
Marburg, known as the “bleeding eyes” virus, has killed 15 people in Rwanda, where hundreds of people are believed to be infected. It’s feared the disease, which has a 50-50 chance of death and is thought to be one of the deadliest on earth, could soon spread to other countries.
Mpox has also been detected in Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Uganda and Kenya. It was previously confined to five countries on the continent before this year, but there have already been five confirmed cases of it in the UK this year. The latest cases was found in Leeds today from a person who recently returned from Uganda. Four others were members of a household in London who had returned from Africa in October.
UK Health Security Agency chief medical adviser Professor Susan Hopkins said: “Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household.”
Travel Health Pro have issued a warning to travellers to take extra are. It advised people to ask a health professional if you are fit for travelling before going abroad. The warning states: “In particular, pregnant and immunosuppressed people are known to be at higher risk of severe infection. Check your travel health insurance before you go.”
People are being advised to avoid contact with people who are unwell or have a rash, to regularly wash hands and use hand sanitiser, and to keep your hands away from your face, the Metro reports. The disease is spread through non-sexual and close sexual contact. Bites from midges are also spreading the virus Oropouche in several south American countries and a Caribbean state popular with tourists.
More than 10,000 people in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, Bolivia and Dominican Republic have been infected this year. There are no specific medicines or vaccines for the virus and some people have died from it.
Travel Health Pro warned that while Marburg “is rare and very unusual in travellers, sporadic cases have been reported in travellers who spent prolonged periods in mines or caves inhabited by bat colonies”. It can be spread through contact with broken skin, blood, secretions, bodily fluids, and mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth, of infected people.
Marburg has an incubation period between two to 21 days and can start abruptly according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms for it include: fever, severe headaches, severe malaise, muscle aches and pains. Other symptoms appearing later on can be: severe watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea, vomiting, non-itchy rash.
After the fifth day, some other symptoms include: fresh blood in vomit and faeces, bleeding from the nose, gums, vagina, eyes, mouth and ears, internal bleeding, confusion, irritability, aggression or inflammation of the testicles. If symptoms carry on for longer, people are at risk of death, often due to severe blood loss or shock.
Symptoms might not appear until up to 21 days after being infected with mpox. The most obvious and common symptom is a rash that can last for a month. It looks like blisters and sores, affecting the face, palms, soles of feet, groin, genitals and anal area. Other symptoms are a high temperature, a headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, shivering, exhaustion and joint pain.
For Oropouche it’s believed the first symptoms appear around three to 10 days and last for up to a week. Symptoms include a fever, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, chills, nausea, vomiting and a rash.