Press Release

Travellers advised to be vigilant against Marburg hemorrhagic fever

15 April 2005

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (April 15) called on travellers to Africa to be vigilant against Marburg hemorrhagic fever following report from the World Health Organization (WHO) that more than 230 such cases occurred in Angola recently, and 210 of them have died.

A CHP spokesman said Marburg hemorrhagic fever is a rare and severe disease which affects both human and primates.

"Although the disease is rare, it has a capacity to cause dramatic outbreaks with high fatality," the spokesman said.

Incubation period of the disease varies from three to 10 days.

The virus is mainly found in East and Central Africa. The virus can be spread through extremely close contact with a patient or his body fluid.

Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever, severe headache, severe malaise and muscle ache, followed by severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and severe bleeding from nose and gums a few days later. Death occurs most often eight to nine days after onset of symptoms.

Close contact with a severely ill patient, during care at home or in hospital, and certain burial practices are common routes of infection.

According to the WHO, casual contact would not cause infection.

The CHP is sending information to alert doctors in Hong Kong about the disease.

"They have been reminded to maintain a high level of clinical suspicion and ask detailed travel history if patients have fallen sick during or after traveling to Africa," the spokesman said.

The WHO currently does not recommend restrictions on travel to Angola but does advise precautions to be taken, and persons with existing medical conditions who might require hospitalization should consider deferring non-essential travel to the country.

The spokesman said travellers to the country should take the following measures:

• Observe good personal hygiene.
• Frequent hand washing with soap can remove infectious materials from the hands and prevent disease transmission.
• Close contact with feverish or ill persons must be avoided.
• Avoid contact with sick or dead animals especially primates.
• Do not eat bushmeat of primates.
• After returning from the affected area, travellers should monitor their health for 10 days and seek medical advice promptly if symptoms of fever, watery diarrhea, malaise, muscle ache or nausea develop, and disclose their recent travel history to their doctors.

Latest information on Marburg hemorrhagic fever and health advice as well as preventive measures of the disease can be found under "Outbreak News" on the DH's Hong Kong Travellers' Health Service website http://www.info.gov.hk/trhealth/e_HKTHS.htm and the World Health Organization website http://www.who.int/csr/disease/marburg/en/