Khaberni - The Egyptian Ministry of Health commented on the news regarding the spread of unknown, high-risk viruses in the country amidst the spread of a threatening virus in African countries.
The official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, confirmed that Egypt has not recorded the presence of any new or high-risk viruses, and that "the epidemiological situation" in the country is completely stable, with no cases of Marburg virus recorded.
Abdel Ghaffar clarified that the Marburg virus, which caused a panic on social media platforms in Egypt after its spread in African countries, is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids of the infected person, and not through the air. He explained that it comes from a type of bats not present in Egypt.
The Marburg virus is an RNA virus belonging to the filovirus family, the same family as the Ebola virus, and it causes a severe viral disease known as "Marburg hemorrhagic fever." It was first discovered in 1967 in the German city of Marburg after samples from infected African bats were transferred to a laboratory there, resulting in 31 people being infected and 7 of them dying.
The virus is rare but highly dangerous as the fatality rate in previous outbreaks ranges between 24% and 88%, depending on the viral strain and the quality of medical care.
Abdel Ghaffar explained that travel between countries affected by this disease "hotspots" and Egypt is not dense, adding that the surveillance device affiliated with the Ministry of Health monitors epidemiological situations on both local and global levels.
He affirmed that "up to this moment, there are no cases of Marburg virus in Egypt," emphasizing that the ministry follows the global situation hour by hour and will not hesitate to inform the citizens of any developments with complete transparency.
On another note, the spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Health mentioned that there is an increase in cases of respiratory viruses during this period annually, confirming that the infection rates have remained constant over the past years.
He stated that influenza has the highest infection rates among respiratory viruses at 66% of the total cases, followed by rhinovirus at 16%, and then the respiratory syncytial virus at an infection rate of 1%.
He clarified that respiratory viruses infect both the upper respiratory tract and also the digestive system, causing diarrhea, and confirmed that these are the same respiratory viruses with the same recurring symptoms every year.
He continued that in assessing the severity of symptoms, influenza (A) comes at the forefront, followed by the respiratory syncytial virus, then influenza (B), and finally, coronavirus.
