Uganda health officials have said that all suspected cases of the Ebola-like Marburg virus have tested negative and those held in isolation have been released.
A 30-year-old medical technician died from Marburg on September 28, 11 days after falling ill in a Kampala hospital where he worked, sparking alarm.
“At the moment there are no new cases reported or suspected,” senior health ministry official Issa Makumbi told AFP on Tuesday October 21. Five people placed in isolation earlier this month had all been cleared and released, he added.
The Marburg virus is one of the most deadly known pathogens. Like Ebola, it causes severe bleeding, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and has a 21 day incubation period. More than 21 days have passed since the last confirmed infection: that of the hospital worker who died. But Uganda is yet to pass the 42 day period needed until the complete all clear is given.
“We have to remain vigilant until we have been declared free of Marburg,” Mr Makumbi added.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus is also transmitted via contact with bodily fluids and fatality rates range from 25 to 80 percent. The Ebola outbreak has claimed more than 5,000 lives in West Africa since the beginning of the year. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a Marburg outbreak in Uganda in October 2012 killed 10 people.
