Marbug Virus Worse Than Ebola

Anyone else still remember the movie Outbreak? In it, a small American town is ravaged by a hemorragic fever which spreads like wildfire and has an almost 100% mortality rate. We were all a bit freaked out by it, but were reassured that it is not possible because (1) even ebola is not airborne and (2) even ebola is not quite that lethal. Well, we are now learning the Marbug outbreak in Angola is that lethal!

The outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Angola is worse than Ebola, a UN disease expert said, as the world body launched an urgent appeal for funds to fight the fever which has claimed 180 lives...The world body on Friday launched an emergency appeal for 3.5 million dollars (2.7 million euros) to "intensify the fight" against the outbreak which "was the largest ever recorded and still growing."
"The appeal for 3.5 million dollars will enable UN agencies, including the WHO, UNICEF and the WFP to support the Angolan government intensifying outbreak control efforts," said the UN's resident co-ordinator in Angola, Pierre-Francois Pirlot. "It is clear that this epidemic is unprecedented not only in Angola, but everywhere. It is the biggest epidemic of haemorrhagic fever so far," he said.
Most of the victims come from the northern town of Uige, the epicentre of the outbreak some 300 kilometres (180 mile) north of the seaboard capital Luanda. Some 200 cases had been reported since it first surfaced in October.
"The victims included nine health workers, seven nurses and two doctors," said Angolan vice health minister Jose Van Dunem.
Fear has gripped the capital and the country of 14 million people, which emerged three years ago from a brutal 27-year civil war. The Ebola-like Marburg virus, whose exact origin is unknown, spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, excrement, vomit and saliva, but can be contained with relatively simple health precautions, according to experts. Yokouibd told reporters that the disease "was transmitted through contact with all bodily fluids which also included sweat and tears if you touch a sick person," but he stressed that it was "not an airborne disease".