A possible case of Marburg fever in Santander forces the activation of the haemorrhagic disease protocol

Nine days ago Equatorial Guinea ended an outbreak of the Marburg virus -similar to Ebola-. But the disease could have reached Spain since the Cantabrian Ministry of Health has activated the protocol for hemorrhagic fever in the face of a possible case in a patient admitted to the Santander hospital in Valdecilla and who had recently returned from the African country.

According to EFE sources of Health, this Wednesday a middle-aged woman was treated in the emergency room of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital with fever, vomiting and headaches, symptoms compatible with this disease, for which the protocols were activated and the put her in isolation.

The samples have been sent to the laboratory of the National Center for Microbiology in Majadahonda (Madrid), which must determine if it is the Marburg virus.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between February 13 and May 1, there were 17 laboratory-confirmed cases and 23 probable cases, the last one reported on April 20.

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus causes sudden bleeding and can cause death in a few days, with an incubation period of 2-21 days and a mortality rate of up to 88%.

Fruit bats are the natural hosts of this virus, which when transmitted to humans can be transmitted through direct contact with fluids such as blood, saliva, vomit or urine.

The disease, for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment, was detected in 1967 in the German city of Marburg -the origin of its name- by laboratory technicians who were infected while investigating monkeys brought from Uganda.