Marburg virus alert
Major operation in Hamburg: Rwanda returnee isolated
A German medical student who had returned from a trip to Rwanda and suddenly complained of flu-like symptoms caused a large-scale operation by the authorities in Hamburg on Wednesday. The young man was traveling with his girlfriend on an ICE train from Frankfurt Airport to Hamburg. During the train journey, the 26-year-old contacted a doctor as he feared he had contracted the life-threatening Marburg virus. His partner also felt ill.
According to media reports, the medical student stated that he had worked in a hospital in Rwanda where patients infected with the Marburg virus had also been treated. A large contingent of firefighters and rescuers were immediately deployed, and the platform where the ICE train from Frankfurt stopped was closed. The couple was taken to the Eppendorf University Hospital in a special vehicle, where they are now being examined and treated in isolation from other patients.
All-clear on Thursday: tests negative
As a precautionary measure, the contact details of those train passengers who may have had contact with the sick people were recorded. However, the health authorities have not yet issued any further quarantine measures. The platform and the train were disinfected.
The all-clear was given on Thursday morning: the suspicion of the Marburg virus had not been confirmed. Corresponding tests had been negative.
This is how dangerous the Marburg virus is
The Marburg virus can cause high so-called hemorrhagic fever and symptoms such as muscle pain, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and bloody vomiting. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 24 to 88 percent of those infected have died in previous outbreaks. People become infected through direct contact with the body fluids of infected people, such as blood, and not through the air. Transmission through direct, close contact with skin or mucous membranes is also possible. The incubation period is two to 21 days.
Latest outbreak in Rwanda has claimed eleven lives so far
Rwanda is currently struggling with an outbreak of the virus. As the Ministry of Health of the East African country announced on Platform X, eleven patients have died so far, 25 are isolated and being treated. It is not yet known where the outbreak originated and when it occurred. Rwanda is one of the smallest countries in Africa, but is particularly densely populated.
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