Marburg, a virus similar
to Ebola, has hit the radar
in the African country of
Uganda, raising concerns
about another deadly
outbreak. With two lethal
viruses threatening public
health, many are
questioning why these
contagions seem to be
flaring up more often —
and more important,
what we can do to avoid
them in the future.
The current Ebola
outbreak originated in
West Africa and has
killed more than 3,800
people, more than all
other past outbreaks
combined. The first
Marburg death was
confirmed recently in
Kampala, Uganda. Both
viruses cause
hemorrhagic fevers and
are passed from animals
to humans, which has
experts examining how
humans and African
wildlife interact.
One mystery surrounding
these viruses is where
they live between
outbreaks, when they
aren't infecting humans,
author and Ebola expert
David Quammen told
National Geographic. For
example, health officials
know Ebola likely goes
dormant in an animal,
called its "reservoir host,"
but they have yet to
identify exactly which
species. At least one of the
suspects is the fruit bat,
which is believed to host
several other
viruses (including
Marburg and SARS)
without getting sick.
These bats usually live in
large, tightly packed
groups, allowing the virus
to spread easily among
the animals.
In the past, there was
enough room in Africa
for humans and fruit bats
to exist without much
contact. Deforestation has
changed this, according
to an editorial in the
Guardian. West Africa
was once covered in rain
forests, a common habitat
for fruit bats. During the
past decade, loggers have
stripped the land,
reducing the habitable
area for the animals.
Laws governing more
responsible logging
practices in that part of
the world could help
reduce the risk of future
outbreaks, but civil wars
and political corruption
are slowing progress.
As the forests shrink, the
mining industry has been
moving more people into
Africa to tap its vast
mineral reserves. These
miners often have to
travel through high
concentrations of bats,
which increases the
likelihood of someone
being infected. Like the
rain forests, mines are
also popular habitats for
animals that might carry
these viruses, and
miners have been among
the victims in several
Marburg outbreaks in the
past. In 1998, one of the
largest Marburg
outbreaks to date
occurred in Congo, in an
area pocked with several
illegal gold mines. During
the course of the
epidemic, there were 149
cases and 123 deaths.
But animals in the wild
are not the only threat to
spread these viruses; wild
animals — including
primates, birds, and
reptiles — captured and
sold for food or as exotic
pets are also a risk. Some
experts believe the illegal
wildlife trade market
— which brings in
between $10 billion and
$20 billion each year — is
one of the greatest threats
due to its global reach
and the lack of health
standards. "As wildlife is
traded between hunters,
middle marketers, and
consumers, there are,
quite literally, billions of
opportunities for disease
transmission among
wildlife, humans, and
domestic animals," wrote
Timothy Bouley and Sara
Thompson for the World
Bank . Research has found
that outbreaks resulting
from wildlife trade have
caused hundreds of
billions of dollars of
economic damage
globally. It has been such
a problem the researchers
suggested that eradicating
the illegal trade market
would be more practical
and effective at stopping
outbreaks than attacking
the virus directly.

SOURCE :- https://www.yahoo.com/health/first-ebola-now-marburg-how-do-we-stop-future-99548432852.html

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