Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever in Africa

Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever in Africa
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Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever in Africa
According to the World Health Organization (2005), Marburg fever is a rare disease caused by a virus that belongs in the same family with the Ebola virus. In 2005, the WHO in coordination with the Angola Ministry of Health confirmed an outbreak of the virus that caused a total of 63 deaths. One of the primary difficulties public health officials faced in controlling the outbreak is the high fatality rate as anyone who got the virus died. Moreover, the other difficulty in controlling the virus is inadequate health care workers in Angola as the ones present were overwhelmed with the spread of the condition. Additionally, lack of finances to ensure proper diagnosis and distribution of drugs. The solutions to these challenges included the collaboration of experts from several countries such as Belgium, France, and Spain. Moreover, the media also played a role in control as they spread messages to the public to increase awareness of the condition (World Health Organization, 2005). In essence, the collaboration among experts ensured that the virus was controlled after some time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014) underline that there are several ways of preventing the virus such as avoidance of fruit bats. Moreover, the virus can also be prevented by sensitizing communities that are at risk for the virus to increase awareness. Additionally, diagnostic tools also need to be improved to ensure that the virus is detected early.

The threat of the virus is reduced by educating the public and health care workers about the symptoms. Further, the threat is also reduced by accessing remote areas to collect samples for testing which ensures better control (WebMD, 2018). Additionally, the threat is also reduced by promoting safe injections in communities and monitoring high-risk populations (World Health Organization, 2005). The education of communities on risk factors, therefore, helps in preventing the contact and spread of the virus.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). Marburg hemorrhagic fever (Marburg HF) Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/marburg/prevention/index.htmlWebMD (2018). Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever: Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/marburg-hemorrhagic-fever#3-12World Health Organization (2005). Controlling the Marburg outbreak in Angola. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/features/2005/marburg/en/World Health Organization (2005). Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Angola – update 26: MOH declares outbreak over. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/csr/don/2005_11_07a/en/