Patient in Spain isolated over suspected case of Marburg disease

Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA)- Authorities have isolated a patient in the Spanish city of Valencia over a suspected case of Marburg virus disease, local health officials said on Friday night.

The 34-year-old man had recently returned from Equatorial Guinea, which is coping with its first-ever outbreak of the deadly virus.

Marburg virus is related to Ebola and causes many of the same symptoms. According to the WHO, its average case fatality rate is around 50%, although that rate has varied from 24% to 88% depending on the virus strain and treatment.

The virus is spread between humans through direct contact with blood, secretions or other bodily fluids from an infected person, putting healthcare workers at high risk.

Valencian health officials say they activated a special protocol and have put the patient in quarantine while they wait for a lab to confirm whether or not the man has contracted the virus.

Currently, there are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for Marburg virus disease, but supportive hospital care can increase the survival rate, according to the World Health Organization.

In mid-February, Equatorial Guinea had detected dozens of cases of the disease and health authorities said nine people had been killed. Officials there put a region of more than 4,000 people under quarantine.

The virus was first detected in 1967 when two simultaneous outbreaks occurred in Germany and Serbia, which was associated with laboratory work with monkeys from Uganda.