Travellers warned after ‘bleeding eyes’ virus and two other deadly diseases spread
Travellers have been urged to take extra precautions as the Marburg, Mpox and Oropouche viruses spread in 17 countries.
Known as the ‘bleeding eyes’ virus for one of its symptoms, Marburg has killed 15 people in Rwanda, where hundreds are suspected to be infected.
It’s feared one of the deadliest diseases on earth – with a 50-50 chance of death – could spread to other African countries already dealing with other outbreaks.
Mpox clade 1 has also been detected in Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya and Uganda, as well as Rwanda.
Previously confined to just five countries in central Africa before this year, there have been five confirmed cases of the more dangerous of the Mpox clades in the UK this year.
The latest case, announced in Leeds today, recently returned from Uganda. The other four were members of the same household in London, with the first of them having returned from Africa on October 21.
Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, said: ‘Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household.’
Although ‘the overall risk to the UK population remains low’, it has prompted Travel Health Pro – an information website commissioned by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) – to urge travellers to take extra care.
With no pre-travel vaccine available for mpox in the UK, it advised people to ask a health professional if they are fit for travelling before going abroad.
It said: ‘In particular, pregnant and immunosuppressed people are known to be at higher risk of severe infection. Check your travel health insurance before you go.’
Given the virus is spread through close sexual and non-sexual contact, it is best 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.
Elsewhere, midge bites are spreading another virus – Oropouche – in several south American countries and a Caribbean state popular with tourists.
There are no specific medicines or vaccines for the virus, which has been infected more than 10,000 people in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama and Peru this year.
A small number of those have died.
What are the symptoms of Marburg virus?
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.
After a incubation period of two to 21 days, the first symptoms of Marburg disease start abruptly, according to the World Health Organization:
- fever
- severe headaches
- severe malaise
- muscle aches and pains
More symptoms emerge on the third day:
- severe watery diarrhoea
- abdominal pain and cramping
- nausea
- vomiting
- non-itchy rash
From day five, symptoms include:
- fresh blood in vomit and faeces
- bleeding from the nose, gums, vagina, eyes, mouth and ears
- internal bleeding
- confusion
- irritability
- aggression
- inflammation of the testicles
Patients may die eight or nine days after symptoms start, often following severe blood loss or shock.
What are the symptoms of mpox?
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 first symptoms of mpox include:
- a high temperature
- a headache
- muscle aches
- backache
- swollen glands
- shivering (chills)
- exhaustion
- joint pain
What are the symptoms of Oropouche virus?
Three to 10 days after being infected, the first symptoms of Oropouche disease appear, lasting for roughly a week. These include:
- fever
- headache
- joint pain
- muscle pain
- chills
- nausea
- vomiting
- rash
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