The Institute «Microbe» assessed the likelihood of delivery of Marburg fever to Russia

MOSCOW, Aug 10. The risk of spreading Marburg fever globally, as well as the likelihood of importing infection into Russia, is extremely low, the Russian research institute Microbe of Rospotrebnadzor told reporters. It was previously reported that the Guinean authorities confirmed on Monday the first case of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in the country, a group of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) is already working in the area. “The risk of spread at the national and regional level is assessed by WHO as high (Gekedou prefecture, where the case was identified, is socio-economically tightly linked to Liberia and Sierra Leone). Local authorities, together with several international organizations are involved in the work to prevent the spread of infection. The risk of spreading at the global level, as well as the risk of importing infection into the Russian Federation, is extremely low, «the message says. On the territory of Russia, cases of the disease caused by the Marburg virus have not been registered, the institute specified. Cases of the disease are noted only in the countries of the African continent, the only case of the export of infection outside the region was in 2008 — in the United States and the Netherlands, the department explained. Marburg virus disease, formerly known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever, is a serious and often fatal disease. The average mortality rate of the disease is about 50%, the institute noted. In past outbreaks, the lethality rate has ranged from 24-88%, depending on the virus strain and the quality of medical care, the Microbe explained. First case of deadly Marburg fever confirmed in Guinea