What Is The 'Bleeding Eye' Virus That Has Sparked Global Fear? Check Symptoms Of Deadly Marburg Disease

The deadly Marburg virus disease, similar to Ebola and is now being referred to as the Bleeding Eye Virus, is spreading rapidly in Africa, claiming lives in Rwanda and raising concerns worldwide.

MVD is a severe, often fatal illness. There is no treatment or vaccine.

Source : Canva

The deadly Marburg virus disease (MVD) is reportedly on the spread in Africa, claiming 15 lives in Rwanda, and prompting countries like the US and the UK to issue warnings to its citizens planning to visit the continent. MVD, formerly known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever, and now as Bleeding Eye Virus, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans, according to the WHO.

The UK Daily Mirror reports that the Marburg virus, which has a 50-50 chance of death and is thought to be one of the deadliest on earth, could soon spread after 15 people died in Rwanda. UK Health authorities have issued a warning to its citizens after hundreds more have reported to have been infected with the disease, and there is likelihood that other African countries could see cases too. No cases have been reported inside India as yet. 

The scare has elicited heightened vigilance at US airports. In September, the CNN reported that for the first time in Rwanda’s history, its health ministry was dealing with an outbreak of Marburg virus disease, a rare but deadly haemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola. What makes it deadlier than Ebola is that there is no treatment or vaccines for Marburg, and it has a fatality rate of 88 per cent.

In October, the US Department of Health and Human Services declared that while the outbreak of Marburg virus in Rwanda rages on, travellers coming into the United States who have been in Rwanda in the previous 21 days will be screened starting mid of the month.

Moreover, the continuous spread of Mpox and Oropouche in several countries has also triggered fear among travellers. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began public health entry screening to reduce the risk of the importation and spread of cases.

Reports say that the Mpox clade 1 strains have also been detected in Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Uganda and Kenya. This year, the UK has had five confirmed instances of the more serious of the Mpox cases, which were previously limited to just five nations in central Africa.

The most recent case was a patient who just returned from Uganda, and was announced in Leeds on Sunday. The first had returned from Africa on October 21 and the other four lived in the same London household.

There is no pre-travel mpox vaccine, and therefore the UK government has advised its citizens to consult their doctors before departing the country to determine their suitability for travel. Travel Health Pro, an information website commissioned by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), has posted: “In particular, pregnant and immunosuppressed people are known to be at higher risk of severe infection. Check your travel health insurance before you go.”

Bleeding Eye Virus: Who Should Be Vigilant?

• Pregnant women
• Immunocompromised individuals 
• Transplant patients
• Autoimmune disorder patients
• Those on immune-suppression drugs
• Patients battling cancer
• Diabetics

These patients may run a higher risk of severe infection.

Bleeding Eye Virus Symptoms 

The Metro UK website credits the World Health Organization for information that the Marburg virus once inside a person’s body may undergo an incubation period of two to 21 days, and the first symptoms of Marburg disease start abruptly. 

Initial symptoms manifested are:

• fever
• severe headaches
• severe malaise
• muscle aches and pains

Symptoms that emerge on the third day:

• severe watery diarrhoea
• abdominal pain and cramping
• nausea
• vomiting
• non-itchy rash

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 have a high chance of losing the battle against this deadly disease and may die eight or nine days after symptoms start, often due to the blood loss or shock syndrome, reports Metro.co.uk. MVD is referred to as the "bleeding eye" virus because it damages the blood vessels, causing people to bleed from various orifices, including eyes.

What Tests Are Done To Confirm Bleeding Eye Virus?

According to the WHO, it can be difficult to clinically distinguish MVD from other infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, meningitis and other viral haemorrhagic fevers. The WHO website says that the confirmation that symptoms are caused by Marburg virus infection are made using the following diagnostic methods:

• antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
• antigen-capture detection tests
• reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay
• virus isolation by cell culture in maximum containment laboratories.

The author is an independent journalist.