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Brits travelling abroad have been issued a warning to “take extra precautions” when visiting 17 countries due to outbreaks of three potentially deadly viruses. Travel Health Pro, a website established by the then Department of Health, has set an alert for various locations that include areas of Africa, and South and Central America.
The illnesses that have sparked concern include the Marburg virus disease, the Clade I strain of mpox and Oropouche virus disease.
Experts at Travel Health Pro said: “A Marburg virus disease outbreak has been reported in Rwanda.
"Multi-country outbreaks of mpox clade I and Oropouche are also ongoing.”
Affected countries include Rwanda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Uganda, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama and Peru.
Marburg virus
Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a severe disease with a fatality ratio of up to 88 percent, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is initially spread to humans via “prolonged exposure” to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus fruit bat colonies.
But once introduced in the human population, Marburg virus can spread through human-to-human transmission through bodily fluids and contact with contaminated materials and surfaces.
Symptoms can come on “abruptly”, with high fever, severe headache, muscle aches and pains common. Severe watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea and vomiting can begin on the third day. A non-itchy rash has been reported in patients between two and seven days after onset of symptoms.
From day five of the disease, patients may develop haemorrhagic manifestations, including fresh blood in vomit and faeces, bleeding from the nose, gums and vagina. In fatal cases, death occurs most often between eight and nine days after symptom onset, usually preceded by severe blood loss and shock.
On September 27 this year, the Rwanda Ministry of Health announced the confirmation of MVD. As of October 9, a total of 58 confirmed cases, including 13 deaths have been reported.
Mpox Clade I
In August this year, WHO declared the increasing number of mpox cases reported in Africa, notably the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Other countries badly hit by this outbreak include Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Sweden, Thailand and Germany have reported one confirmed case each of Clade Ib mpox in travellers with links to countries involved in the current Clade I outbreak. And a confirmed case of Clade Ib mpox was recently reported in the UK in a returned traveller who had visited countries in Africa where Clade Ib has been reported.
Three further cases have since been detected in household contacts of the first case.
Mpox spreads from person to person mainly through close contact with someone who has mpox. Close contact includes skin-to-skin (such as touching or sex) and mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-skin contact (such as kissing), and can also include being face-to-face with someone who has mpox (such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles).
Common symptoms of mpox include a rash which may last for two to four 4 weeks. This may start with, or be followed by, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen glands (lymph nodes).
Oropouche virus
During 2024, outbreaks have been reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama and Peru, Travel Health Pro says. As of October 5, a total of 10,275 confirmed cases, including two deaths, have been reported in the Americas region since the start of the year.
Affected countries include Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama and Peru.
It is spread to humans through the bite of infected midges and mosquitoes. Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, joint pain (arthralgia), muscle pain (myalgia), chills, nausea, vomiting and rash.
Most cases recover completely within seven days after the onset of symptoms, the WHO says.
It adds: “However, recovery can take weeks in some patients, and severe complications like aseptic meningitis may occasionally occur. Though deaths from Oropouche virus infection were not previously described, in 2024 there were two reports of deaths in previously healthy young adults with Oropouche virus infection.”
To find out more about these illnesses and how to protect yourself visit travelhealthpro.org.uk.
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