Marburg outbreak in Angola is deadliest ever

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The outbreak of Marburg in Angola has claimed 127 lives, the highest number of fatalities ever recorded from the rare hemorrhagic fever that is in the same family as Ebola, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

In a statement, the United Nations agency also said it was sending more experts to Angola over the weekend, including a medical anthropologist to teach about preventing the spread of the virus during traditional burial practices. The WHO has deployed 20 experts to help combat the viral hemorrhagic fever, characterized by headaches, nausea, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. It is spread through close contact with bodily fluids including saliva and perspiration.

Since October there have been 132 cases of Marburg, causing 127 deaths, mainly in Angola’s northern Uige province. A 15-year-old boy who died on March 20 is the only known victim in the capital Luanda, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a briefing.

“This is the largest number of fatalities ever recorded during an outbreak of this rare but extremely severe disease,” the WHO said.

The previous record was 123 deaths among 149 cases during an epidemic from late 1998-2000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most victims were gold miners.

The Geneva-based WHO is also sending a further 500 kilos (1,100 lb) of protective equipment to protect hospital workers and other front-line staff in Angola.

“Marburg can be controlled if people are put in isolation and their contacts are traced,” Chaib said.

Health officials were also tracing travelers rumored to have been exposed to the disease in Angola, including nine people now isolated in hospital in Italy, according to the WHO spokeswoman.

Tests on two travelers who went from Angola to Portugal showed they did not have the disease, she added. 

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