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Britons Issued Travel Warning For Popular Holiday Spot Over Fears Of 'severe Disease'
British tourists in Peru have been issued a new important travel warning regarding diseases.
New information has been provided by The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Oropouche virus disease and yellow fever.
Both diseases can potentially be fatal but can be avoided altogether by taking the correct vaccines before arriving in the country.
Peru is a popular destination for travellers all over the world and the South American country is home to a portion of the Amazon rainforest and the breathtaking Machu Picchu.
TravelHealthPro urged: "At least eight weeks before your trip, check the latest vaccine recommendations for Peru."
FCDO added: "See where to get vaccines and whether you have to pay on the NHS travel vaccinations page."
Those travelling to the country were told to check what health risks they might face in Peru, including Oropouche virus disease and yellow fever.
TravelHealthPro said: "As of September 16, 2024, a total of 930 confirmed Oropouche virus disease cases have now been reported in 2024.
"On September 19, 2024, the Pan American Health Organization reported 38 confirmed cases of yellow fever, including 19 deaths since the start of the year.
"Cases have been reported in the Plurinational State of Bolivia (seven cases, including three deaths), Brazil (three cases, including two deaths), Colombia (eight cases, including five deaths), Guyana (two cases), and Peru (18 cases, including nine deaths)."
Travellers should be aware of potential symptoms so they can act quickly if they are infected.
The NHS says: "Some yellow fever symptoms are similar to flu, such as high temperature, headache, feeling or being sick, aches and pains, loss of appetite and feeling generally unwell.
"These symptoms often last three or four days. But a small number of people get more serious symptoms within 24 hours of feeling better. More serious symptoms include yellowing of your skin and eyes (jaundice), dark pee, stomach pain and bleeding from your eyes, nose, mouth or stomach – you may have blood in your vomit or poo. These more serious symptoms can be fatal."
British travellers thinking of visiting Peru can also find information on malaria and other health risks in the country, including altitude, biting insects or ticks, dengue, influenza, outdoor air quality and Zika virus.
The FCDO said: "Peru is experiencing a major dengue outbreak following floods. See the 'Outbreaks' page of the TravelHealthPro Peru guide for more information.
"There is also a risk of being infected with malaria, Zika virus or yellow fever through mosquito bites. Take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitos."
Oropouche virus is also known as Sloth Fever and has been showing unusual activity recently by spreading to new areas in Central and South America. There have been more than 10,000 confirmed infections worldwide this year, and 19 of those were in Europe.
Ebola-like Virus Kills Six In Rwanda
An electron micrograph of the Marburg virus, which has a fatality rate of 88pc - BSIP
Six people have died in a major outbreak of Marburg disease in Rwanda, a viral hemorrhagic fever from the same family as Ebola.
At least 26 cases have been reported since the outbreak was first confirmed on Friday, the health minister has announced, marking the first-ever reported cases in Rwanda.
While the source of the outbreak is not yet known, cases have been reported in six of the country's 30 districts, suggesting it may be widespread
The majority of cases so far recorded have been reported in health workers in and around the country's capital Kigali.
The city has a population of 1.2 million people and a well-connected airport, raising concerns of further spread via international and domestic travel, experts have warned.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is deploying experts and outbreak response tools to Rwanda to help curb the virus. Shipments of emergency medical supplies are expected to land in Kigali in the coming days.
The agency also said it is coordinating efforts to reinforce cross-border measures in Rwanda's neighbouring countries to avert further spread.
With a fatality rate of up to 88 per cent, Marburg is initially transmitted to people via fruit bats and then spreads through contact with bodily fluids of infected people.
Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, muscle pains, diarrhoea, and vomiting. In severe cases, death occurs from extreme blood loss.
There are no specific treatments or licensed vaccines available for the Marburg virus, but a range of therapeutics are currently in development, according to the WHO.
It is the fourth-largest Marburg outbreak ever recorded, a particular concern given cases were only confirmed on Friday.
Neighbouring Tanzania reported an outbreak in 2023, while three people died from the virus in Uganda in 2017.
Rwandan authorities have urged the public to stay vigilant, wash their hands with clean water and soap, and report all suspected cases.
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The First-ever Outbreak Of Marburg Virus Disease In Rwanda
On Saturday, September 28, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a first-ever outbreak in Rwanda of the deadly Marburg virus. It is the fourth largest Marburg outbreak documented in modern history. Local health authorities have confirmed 26 cases with six deaths thus far. Cases have occurred across seven of the country's 30 districts. The survivors are presently in isolation receiving treatment, while 161 people who have been identified through contact tracing are being monitored.
Rwanda's Ministry of Health had informed the public and the international health authorities on Friday of these developments. The statement said, "Marburg virus disease (MVD), a hemorrhagic fever, has been confirmed in a few patients in health facilities in the country. Investigations are being carried out to determine the origin of the infection. Enhanced preventive measures are being implemented in all health facilities. Contact tracing is underway, and cases have been isolated for treatment."
The country's health minister, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, told reporters on the same day via a video statement posted on X, "We are counting 20 people who are infected, and six who have already passed away due to this virus. The large majority of cases and deaths are among healthcare workers, mainly in the intensive care unit."
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The following day, addressing the public, Dr. Nsanzimana told Rwandans on video:
I want to emphasize that people can continue with their daily activities. There is no prohibition on any activities. What we ask is that people who have symptoms, specifically high fever, severe headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting, if you experience these symptoms don't ignore them. These are the main symptoms indicating the onset of this virus. Do not continue your daily activities. Instead, call 114 or visit the nearest health center. People should not panic as we have started identifying the hotspots of the disease and are taking appropriate action. We cannot implement guidelines that hinder people's livelihoods.
There is no cure for the disease and supportive care in health facilities means access to intensive care units with healthcare providers well versed in maintaining strict isolation controls. Mainstays of care include pain control, balancing fluids and electrolytes, antibiotics and antifungals as deemed appropriate, and anticoagulation to prevent or control disseminated intravascular coagulation. Such measures are resource intensive and can quickly overwhelm healthcare facilities in poor countries even with just a few cases.
Marburg virus disease is a viral hemorrhagic fever that has similar clinical symptoms to infection with the Ebola virus. Even with supportive care, fatality rates range from 24 to 88 percent. The incubation period after exposure lasts a week on average, but can be between two to 21 days, underscoring the importance of immediate public health efforts to trace all contacts.
The initial phase of the infection (days one through five) is accompanied by high fevers (104 degrees Fahrenheit) with severe headaches, chills, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and horrible sore throat. Additionally, red and purple discolorations cover the entire body. Abdominal cramping, red inflamed eyes, and malaise are experienced by most.
By week one to two, patients are listless in bed out of weakness. They also suffer from shortness of breath, swelling, and marked eye redness. They can suffer from central nervous symptoms such as delirium, confusion and aggression, which places caregivers in danger of secondary infection. The infected also manifest bloody stools and hemorrhaging from mucosal surfaces and blood draw sites.
While fatal cases will continue into coma, convulsions, multiorgan failure accompanied by diffuse coagulopathy, metabolic disturbances, shock and lastly death in this period, those who survive and enter the convalescence phase will have generalized aches and pains, liver dysfunction, muscle weakness, and possibly psychosis.
Transmission of Marburg virus disease is not well understood but can occur through exposure to one species of fruit bats or through consumption of bush meat. The infection can be spread between people via contact with body fluids through unprotected sex or broken skin.
The source of the infection in Rwanda remains to be determined. The majority of cases confirmed have been among healthcare workers in and around the capital city, Kigali, with a population of 1.2 million and an airport well-connected to domestic and international destinations.
The WHO has announced that it is assisting with medical supplies and mobilizing expertise to assist with public health containment measures to end the outbreak quickly. As the report noted, "A consignment of clinical care and infection prevention and control supplies is being readied and will be delivered to Kigali in the coming days from WHO's Emergency Response Hub in Nairobi, Kenya." Additionally, WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said that efforts to bolster "cross-border" measures with bordering countries is underway.
These developments come on the heels of recent Public Health Emergency of International Concern declaration with the clade 1b mpox outbreak centered in the neighboring country of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where promised funds and vaccinations have been slow to materialize as the virus rampages across the country.
In particular, the previous year, Tanzania, a neighboring country to its east, had reported its first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus disease in nine human cases, with six deaths. At the same time, Equatorial Guinea, which lies on the western coast of the continent, nearly 3,000 kilometers away, reported 40 human cases of Marburg virus disease and 35 deaths.
Given its continuing emergence across central Africa and in densely populated cities, it will be only a matter of time, as the mpox pandemic demonstrated in 2022, that these highly virulent diseases may quickly erupt as a global infectious disease crisis. Marburg virus disease continues to be classified by the WHO as a neglected tropical disease as there is limited research, funding, and any attention given it as compared to other infectious diseases. As the authors of a 2023 report on Marburg in Africa stated bluntly:
Lack of commercial incentives for drug development and limited investments in MVD vaccine development have hindered the progress. In view of this, the global health agencies, governments, and nongovernmental organizations may prioritize MVD‐specific research and development. Strengthening the surveillance and diagnostic capacities in particularly the endemic regions may aid in expeditious detection and response and could also potentially prevent an outbreak from ramifying.
As another study on Marburg in sub-Saharan Africa from last year explained, the continent has in the last decade experienced a 63 percent increase in zoonotic diseases, a majority of these caused by emerging deadly viruses like Ebola and Marburg. These have already placed considerable strain on the region's healthcare systems and overall quality of life for its population.
The COVID pandemic has only exacerbated these developments, which are a product of uncontrolled capitalist exploitation and urbanization of the continent without the creation of the social infrastructure to address the growing needs of the population, including protection from deadly viruses emerging from the rain forests and other undeveloped regions.
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