[Ebola-like] Marburg: 55 people under surveillance [in Uganda]

Observer (Uganda) ^ | 10/22/17

[markomalley]

55 people believed to have come into contact with a Marburg victim in Kween district have been placed under surveillance, the health minister Jane Ruth Aceng has said.  

 

A 50-year-old woman from Chemuron village in Moyok parish in Moyok sub-county in Kween district died of Marburg on October 17. 

 

Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) is caused by the Marburg virus, a rare but severe type of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, which affects both humans and non-human primates like monkeys and baboons.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon at the ministry of health headquarters, Aceng said that they have listed 55 people for a follow up as they could have come in contact with the deceased during the burial ceremony.

She says 13 of the 55 people have completed the 21 day follow-up from the time of the death of the probable case, while the rest remain still under close monitoring.

Aceng stated that Uganda has capacity to handle the outbreak and is working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the neighbouring countries to contain the disease.

 

"The probable case that passed away, passed away on the 25th of September. The confirmed case passed away on the 13th of October. In between so many things could have happened that we don’t know. So until we have managed to round up people and follow them up for the 21 days and then another 21 days and there is nothing that is when we can be comfortable.

 

And in this particular case, the suspect case is the little child who came from another village, another sub-county but also had signs and symptoms similar to that of Marburg. That is a suspect case. The probable case in this case is a 42-year-old man who passed away when we did not take samples.", said the minister. 

Aceng specifically warned people who are staying near forests and caves and across the borders to be very vigilant of their health and contacts.

Uganda will for the first time host the Global Health Security Agenda conference from October 25-27 at Common Wealth Resort Munyonyo with an aim of supporting countries to build their capacities to prevent, detect and respond to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and public health threats.

 

Aceng says for the first time the Global health Security Agenda conference is being held in a state with an active outbreak of an infectious and potentially highly fatal disease. She assured the delegates of their safety saying Kween district is more than 300km away from Kampala. 

According to Aceng, although three isolation wards have been set up at Kapchorwa district hospital and Kaproron health center IV in Kween district to handle cases, they are currently empty as most of the contacts are being monitored from their homes.  

Uganda registered a single Marburg in September 2014 involving a healthcare worker. The source of infection was not identified nor was there any secondary cases identified.

[miniTAX]

wether a place is paradise or hell depends totally on the people living there, nothing to do with climes.

[Nifster]

Don’t use ridiculous scare tactics.

Change your headline to what is actually shown. Don’t need your commentary there

[FreedomPoster]

What is your problem with his added information in the headline? He followed proper form by putting it in brackets, and Marburg is indeed a viral hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, and considered part of the same family.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marburg_virus
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filoviridae

The Reuters story on this carries the headline “Uganda confirms one death from Ebola-like Marburg virus”.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uganda-health/uganda-confirms-one-death-from-ebola-like-marburg-virus-idUSKBN1CO1EH

So again, where is the problem here? I, for one, appreciate the added information in the headline.

[Ozark Tom]

Not as lethal (50%?) as other filo-viruses. If memory serves, was determined fruit bats serve as a reservoir host species. Exposure to bat droppings sufficient to infect.

[Nifster]

Added information is not the actual title

It is designed to get people het up.

[FreedomPoster]

We’re going to have to agree to disagree. I think your criticism misguided at best.

[markomalley]

Added information is not the actual title
It is designed to get people het up.

The original title of the article (without brackets) was: Marburg: 55 people under surveillance . The source for this article was within Uganda.

In my humble and inexperienced opinion, I thought that adding a explanatory note in the title would actually help mitigate any panic, since without that small explanatory note a cursory reader could think that 55 people within this country were placed under observation for Marburg.

The other explanatory note was added because of the mistaken idea that some FReepers may not be familiar with what Marburg is. Some may think it is the university town that's about 100 km north of Frankfurt a.M.

Now I've only been around for 13 years or so and thus I must admit that I am fairly new at this posting articles game. I'll defer to your vast experience on the subject.

Do you think it would be appropriate for me to go back and correct the other 20,450 threads I've originated on Free Republic? Or should I just keep your opinion in mind going forward?

[Nifster]

You can post your opinion and additional information in your post

[markomalley]

Thank you sir. I appreciate your wisdom.

[Freedom56v2]

I, for one, appreciate the added information in the headline.

_________________________________

I have been here a long time...

I’d say my pet peeve here is people putting things into Breaking News sidebar that are not breaking news...Keep it simple and uncluttered.

That said, IMHO adding to a title in brackets is no biggie and actually keeps it simple to me.

I found your title’s clearly added info helpful and not sensationalizing in the least. Many people are busy and don’t have time to read all posts immediately. I think being able to scan and see that the outbreak is in Uganda is good to know, and for those who are not u to speed on hemorrhagic viruses, knowing it is “Ebola-like” is a good thing.

Fregards.