The secretary of Health and Environment Surveillance (SVSA) of the Ministry of Health, Ethel Maciel, said this Thursday (16/2) that the folder monitors the situation of the Marburg virus. The highly infectious and deadly microorganism is in the same family as Ebola.
“We are attentive, our reference laboratories are carrying out the collections, we have sentinel units in Brazil and these sentinel units collect tests from people who are looking for health units so that we can carry out genetic analyses. We are following and very attentive to what is happening around us, especially in border countries, ”she explained.
Health authorities in Equatorial Guinea confirmed, this Monday (13/2), that the country is experiencing an outbreak caused by the virus. In February, at least nine people died and another 16 suspected cases were reported in the Central African country.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people by fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with infected body fluids, surfaces and materials.
According to the World Health Organization WHO, the illness starts abruptly, with high fever, intense headache and malaise. Many patients develop severe bleeding symptoms within seven days.
More than 200 people have been quarantined in the last week after authorities detected the first cases of the hemorrhagic fever. Health teams perform contact tracing, isolating and treating suspected cases.
