25 February 2023 , 02:48
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A patient has been isolated at a Spanish hospital who is suspected of having the deadly Marburg virus, it is reported.
The disease, that carries an 88% mortality rate, is similar to Ebola and the possible case in Valencia follows an outbreak in Equatorial Guinea which has killed nine people.
Health authorities in the Valencia region have activated a contagious diseases protocol over the possibility that a 34-year-old man, who has been in Equatorial Guinea, has the virus with a biological sample sent to the Instituto de Salud Carlos lll hospital in Madrid for confirmation.
The patient has symptoms similar to someone affected by the Marburg virus and he has been moved from a private hospital to the top La Fe hospital in Valencia.
The virus, which has an incubation period of between five and 10 days when it is not transmitted, has systems of fever, muscle pain and headaches.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
The Marburg virus has a mortality rate of 88% (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)For the majority of cases there is a rapid decline with sickness and stomach pains.
In the early stages of the disease the symptoms are very similar to Ebola and malaria.
According to experts, patients become "ghost-like" due to their expressionless faces and deep-set eyes.
Bleeding is also a regular symptom especially in the gums, nose, eyes and from the intestines while there can also be neurological effects with disorientation, convulsions and patients falling into comas.
Earlier this month, following the Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea, Francisco Buesa, professor of microbiology at Valencia University said it was unlikely for it to spread in Europe by a traveller from the African country who was in the incubation period.
“If a person with the virus but without symptoms travels to Europe during the incubation period of the illness, they could carry the virus but there is not a real risk of the Marburg virus spreading in Europe,” he told media outlet Redaccion Medica.
Anyone with symptoms in Equatorial Guinea is being forced to self-isolate to help contain the deadly outbreak which has already infected sixteen people, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It has led to nearby countries such as Cameroon and Gabon to restrict their borders amid concerns the incurable disease is spreading.
Due to the increase in cases, international aid agencies are on the ground in Kie Ntem, which is where the cases originated from.