(OPINION) Why are so many unusual outbreaks of disease suddenly happening all over the planet? We were already dealing with a seemingly endless global pandemic coming into 2022, and so far this year a bird flu pandemic has resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of our chickens and turkeys, the worst monkeypox outbreak in history has spread like wildfire in the western world, and now it is being reported that there is an outbreak of the Marburg Virus in Africa.
We have already lost our opportunity to contain monkeypox, and that is really bad news. But if authorities are not able to successfully contain this new Marburg outbreak, we could potentially be facing a scenario that is downright apocalyptic.
The new outbreak of the Marburg Virus is happening in Ghana. The two victims that have died so far did not know each other, and officials believe that this is evidence that “the disease is spreading more widely”… Two people are believed to have died from the extremely deadly Marburg virus in Ghana as officials gear up for a potential outbreak.
The patients, from the country’s southern Ashanti region, were not known to each other, suggesting the disease is spreading more widely. Initial tests came back positive for the virus and the samples are being reanalyzed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Global health authorities have always warned that the Marburg virus is a good candidate for a horrifying global pandemic because it can have a very long incubation period. The following information comes from the World Health Organization…
The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) varies from 2 to 21 days. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly, with high fever, severe headache, and severe malaise. Muscle aches and pains are common feature. Severe watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramping, nausea, and vomiting can begin on the third day. Diarrhea can persist for a week. The appearance of patients at this phase has been described as showing “ghost-like” drawn features, deep-set eyes, expressionless faces, and extreme lethargy.
All of that sounds terrible, but the next stage of the disease is truly nightmarish… Many patients develop severe haemorrhagic manifestations between 5 and 7 days, and fatal cases usually have some form of bleeding, often from multiple areas. Fresh blood in vomitus and faeces is often accompanied by bleeding from the nose, gums, and vagina.
Spontaneous bleeding at venepuncture sites (where intravenous access is obtained to give fluids or obtain blood samples) can be particularly troublesome. During the severe phase of illness, patients have sustained high fevers. Involvement of the central nervous system can result in confusion, irritability, and aggression. Orchitis (inflammation of one or both testicles) has been reported occasionally in the late phase of disease (15 days).
In fatal cases, death occurs most often between 8 and 9 days after symptom onset, usually preceded by severe blood loss and shock. The largest previous outbreak of the disease was in 2005. During that outbreak, 88 percent of the victims died…
The largest outbreak to date was in Angola in 2005, when 374 caught the virus and 329 died – a fatality rate of 88 percent. A disease that has a death rate of way less than one percent ended up paralyzing much of the planet for months on end.
So what do you think will happen if the Marburg Virus becomes a true global pandemic? Needless to say, the panic would be off the charts, and there is no cure and no vaccine… The Marburg virus is a top concern for public health officials who are worried about the next pandemic. It has the potential to cause serious public health emergencies but there are currently no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat the virus.
Meanwhile, the number of monkeypox cases continues to rise at an exponential rate. When I wrote about monkeypox yesterday, there were 7,534 global cases. Unfortunately, Friday was the worst day for this outbreak so far by a very wide margin, and now there are 9,109 global cases. I had been hoping that this outbreak would fade after the initial spike of cases, but instead it seems to be rapidly picking up momentum.
Here in the United States, it has already spread to 39 different states and the total number of cases has now risen to 790. If the number of cases continues to double at a very fast pace, it won’t be too long before we have a major national crisis on our hands. Let us hope that doesn’t happen, because this is a disease that you definitely do not want to get. READ MORE
