Marburg spreads, focus on hand hygiene, UAE tells its residents

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has urged the public to be aware of the virus causing Marburg hemorrhagic fever and to avoid travelling to Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea unless it’s necessary due to the recent spread of Marburg virus. This comes after several Arab countries advised their citizens to postpone traveling to those two countries due to the same concern. 

As precautionary measures may have been un-observed with the ease on the Novel Coronavirus, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) reminds once more all UAE residents and visitors regarding proper hand hygiene by primarily washing their hands when necessary and keeping a bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer within reach.

The authority issued the reminder on Tuesday when it also reiterated the April 1 (Saturday) -issued travel ban of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) to UAE citizens to Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea located in East Africa and Central Africa, respectively.

In the official Twitter account of the MOFAIC on Saturday: “In view of the announcement by the health authorities in the Federal Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea of monitoring outbreaks of ‘Marburg’s virus, and based on the Ministry’s concern for the safety of the country’s citizens, the Ministry advises to postpone travel to the Federal Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in this period.”

From the Tuesday MOHAP press statement: “(We urge) the public to avoid travelling to Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea unless it is necessary due to the recent spread of the Marburg virus.”

Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), initially labeled as the Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever (MHF), has been documented by pertinent bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) of the European Union, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the USA, as having been discovered separately in Marburg, Germany and Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) in 1967 when laboratory workers were working “with tissues of African green monkey imported from Uganda.”

Classified as an animal-to-human “severe disease caused by the Marburg marburgvirus transmitted by “direct contact with the blood and other body fluids (urine, saliva, faeces, vomit, breast milk, amniotic fluid, and semen)  of infected people and animals or indirect contact with contaminated surfaces and materials like clothing, bedding and medical equipment,” the ECDC website notes of two types of Marburg viruses which are “highly lethal human pathogens that have been linked to several epidemics of haemorrhagic fever in Africa.”

In the 1967 occurrence, nine of the world’s first 37 cases that included the medical personnel who took care of the stricken laboratory workers, passed on.

The MOHAP press release mentions that the virus is a “zoonotic RNA virus that is transmitted from animals to humans in a closed environment, such as mines or caves inhabited by bats.” The mild to worst signs and symptoms are “fever, chills, headache, muscle and chest pains; jaundice, severe weight loss, and other serious health complications.”

Additional signs and symptoms, according to the WHO are “severe week-long water diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea and vomiting, ghost-like drawn features, deep set eyes, expressionless faces, and extreme (fatigue).”

From the ECDC website: “Infection may occur in relation to the burial of infected individuals. Contact with dead or living infected animals including bush meat (i.e. monkeys, chimpanzees, forest antelopes and bats) can also be a source of infection.”

From the Tuesday MOHAP press release: “(We) urge the public to be aware of the virus causing (MHF) and to avoid traveling to Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea unless it is necessary due to the recent spread of the Marburg virus. This comes after several Arab countries advised their citizens to postpone traveling to those two countries due to the same concern.”

Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait recently issued travel advisories.

From MOHAP: “If travel is unavoidable, necessary precautions should be taken to avoid exposure to the disease, such as avoiding close contact with patients, touching contaminated surfaces, and refraining from visiting caves and mines. (These travelers) recommends isolating themselves from others and seeking medical attention to the nearest health facility or emergency department within hospitals. (They) should inform medical staff that they have been to an area where (MVD) is spreading or have been in contact with infected individuals, or exhibit symptoms for up to 21 days.”

On the proper hand hygiene, MOHAP also reminds that if water and soap are unavailable, “people should use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer; (they) should avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with their hands and ensure proper hand hygiene before touching their face.”