Ministry of Public Health screens high-risk travelers for “Marburg virus”

      An outbreak of the Marburg virus disease has killed nine people in Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa, for the first time. Victims suffer from a high fever, severe headache, and bleeding. Because the disease's nature is similar to that of Ebola, Thailand is closely monitoring the situation.

      In Equatorial Guinea, all nine deaths resulted from severe infection, fever, and vomiting. There were also 16 suspected cases, with the majority of them suffering from fever, fatigue, bloody vomiting, and diarrhea. Further investigations are being conducted by relevant authorities, and the World Health Organization has dispatched a team of experts to investigate the disease in the affected areas in order to trace and isolate contacts, and provide medical treatment to symptomatic patients, as well as manage emergency response situations in order to prevent a widespread outbreak.

      Under the Communicable Diseases Act B.E. 2558, Thailand has designated Marburg virus infection as a highly severe disease and one of the 13 dangerous communicable diseases. It can kill sufferers up to 88% of the time. Filoviridae is the same genus as the Ebola virus. High fever, severe headache, and, in many cases, severe bleeding and diarrhea are all symptoms. As with Ebola, it can be spread through blood and feces. The virus was discovered in bats and spread to humans.

      It can also be transmitted through direct contact with an infected person’s blood and bodily secretions, or by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus. There is currently no vaccine or antiviral medication available to treat Marburg virus infection. The treatment is symptomatic and supportive.

      Thailand currently has no cases of Marburg infection, but there has been an increase in international travel to Thailand. As a result, the Department of Disease Control will closely monitor the situation from the World Health Organization and other agencies to continuously analyze and assess the risks. While no travel ban has been announced, the Department of Disease Control is focusing on screening measures for travelers from Equatorial Guinea and neighboring countries.

      Two more suspected cases were discovered near the Cameroonian border, near the outbreak area in Equatorial Guinea. As a result, Thailand has increased the level of preparation of surveillance and screening systems at all international communicable disease control checkpoints, as well as notifying public health facilities throughout the country. If suspected cases are discovered, specimens must be collected and sent for laboratory confirmation, and suspected cases must be reported within three hours.

      If members of the public come across someone who appears to be infected with the Marburg virus, they must notify the communicable disease control officer at the provincial public health office or a hospital affiliated with the Ministry of Public Health. For more information, call the Department of Disease Control’s hotline at 1422.

Source: Office of Information, Ministry of Public Health, Building 3, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health, Tiwanon Road, Talad Khwan Subdistrict, Mueang Nonthaburi District, Nonthaburi Province

Tel.: +66 2590 1000

16 February 2023

Reference:  https://pr.moph.go.th/?url=pr/detail/2/04/186344/