7/11/08

Dutch tourist gets Marburg from Uganda
Friday, 11th July, 2008
 

GENEVA � A Dutch woman has died of Marburg fever in the Netherlands after returning from Uganda, health ministry officials confirmed yesterday.

She is believed to have got the virus when a bat fell on her at the python cave in the Imaramagambo Forest, the Director General of Health Services, Dr. Sam Zaramba, said. The cave is a popular tourist attraction adjacent to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

�Three weeks after she returned to her country she developed the disease.�

Zaramba said since the woman became ill after leaving Uganda, that does not constitute an outbreak of Marburg in Uganda. But warned Ugandans against coming in contact with wild bats and monkeys, saying they harbour the virus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) urged Ugandans and tourists to avoid entering caves with bats. �It is an isolated case of imported Marburg. People should not think about amending their travel plans to Uganda, but should not go into caves with bats,� WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said.

The 40-year-old woman entered caves in western Uganda twice during a three-week trip in June, according to WHO.

�Marburg virus infection has been demonstrated by laboratory tests...,� WHO said in a statement.

Marburg haemorrhagic fever is a severe and highly fatal contagious disease caused by a virus related to the Ebola virus. Patients often bleed from multiple sites and there is no vaccine or specific treatment.

The woman suffered fever and chills four days after her return home on June 28 and was admitted to Leiden hospital, where she had liver failure and severe bleeding, WHO said.

People who were in close contact with her upon her return are being monitored daily, but none has shown any symptoms, according to Hartl.

�No measures were taken with respect to the passengers on the flight from Uganda as the flight occurred four days before the onset of symptoms in the patient,� WHO said.

�WHO has recommended that the ministry advises all residents and travellers to avoid entering caves with bat populations.�

There was a Marburg outbreak among gold miners who work in caves in western Uganda in August 2007.






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Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
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