Tapiwa Gomo
A deadly hemorrhagic fever, identified as Marburg virus, has claimed the lives of at least 132 people in Angola, most of them children under the age of five. The majority of cases have been registered in the northern province of Uige.
The outbreak surfaced late last year, and is now threatening to spread to other regions of the country if mitigation measures are not put in place.
The Angola Red Cross has deployed more than 40 volunteers, who are currently working with Ministry of Health staff to disseminate information on the fever and advising communities on how to prevent the spread of the virus.
“The first three cases of the Marburg virus were reported in October 2004 in Uige province which resulted in three deaths and then four more the following month,” said Dr. Martin Acosta, the International Federation representative in Angola.
“Although many people thought the situation was under control, the number of cases kept increasing, to 20 in January and February 2005 until recently when 53 cases were detected in March. Of those, only six people survived,” he added.
Apart from working with community leaders, traditional healers and church leaders in carrying out awareness campaigns, the Red Cross society has also sent a consignment of medicine to support the provincial hospital in Uige branch, including aspirin, paracetamol and oral re-hydration salts, as well as disinfectant, hospital gauze and needles
“Community education is paramount if the spread of the virus has to be contained,” says Dr Acosta, who expressed concern that there was a great need to protect the volunteers who are currently carrying out public awareness in the affected communities.
“Our volunteers are helping with educating the affected communities on precautions, cleaning some of the areas, destroying contaminated items and distributing disinfectants and replacement material of goods destroyed,” said the president of Red Cross branch of Uige.
Other agencies are also stepping up their efforts to help Angola fight the outbreak of Marburg, a rare, highly contagious and often fatal haemorrhagic disease.
The Angolan Ministry of Health, which has described the outbreak as "a disaster", has warned that there is a lack of medical doctors, trained nurses and resources, which would make it very difficult to manage should it reach epidemic proportions.
Following a meeting of the National Civil Protection Commission, of which Red Cross is a member, Uige deputy governor, Mendes Domingos, also reiterated the serious lack of working equipment, especially ambulances, tents and disposable material. He described the psychological state of the population and nursing teams as “low”. Five nurses were among the victims.
The Marburg disease, a severe form of haemorrhagic fever in the same family as Ebola, was first identified in 1967 and the largest previous outbreak occurred from late 1998 to 2000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing 123 people.
The virus is transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of infected people. Victims can suffer from severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, followed by severe chest and lung pains, sore throat and cough.
Many cases result in severe bleeding, beginning from the fifth day and affecting the gastrointestinal tract and the lungs, accompanied by a rash that can cover the entire body.