Kitum Cave in Kenya hosts some of them more deadly pathogens which are known to man. In 1980, a French engineer working in a nearby sugar factory was infected by Marburg virus after visiting Kitum Cave, which is located inside the dormant volcano in the heart of Kenya’s Mount Elgon National Park. The man died a few days later in a Nairobi hospital. Seven years later, a Danish student vacationing with his family in the area died after contracting a similar virus, now known as Ravn virus.
When the cave was first discovered, scientists couldn’t explain why its walls were full of scratches and thought they were made by ancient Egyptian laborers while searching for gold or diamonds. Later, they realized that the salt found on the walls of the cave attracts various animals such as elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, leopards, hyenas and bats. Therefore, scientists estimate that the cave has turned into “hatchery” of zoonotic diseases.
The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) launched an expedition to the cave after outbreaks in the 1980s, but struggled to identify the species responsible for spreading the deadly pathogens to humans .
Over a decade later, the RNA of the virus was detected in an apparently healthy Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) which was found in the cave in July 2007. The researchers found that remnants of the deadly virus were present in the liver, spleen and lung tissue of the female bat. Since then, vast amounts of type 1 interferon genes, as well as so-called “natural killer” cell receptors, have been detected in these bats. It is also known that bats “host” a multitude of viruses in their bodies without becoming seriously ill.
“Researchers had previously looked at a number of bat genomes and had failed to identify traditional natural killer cell receptors,” explained microbiologist Stephanie Pavliwicz of Boston University.
How is the virus transmitted – What are the symptoms?
The virus can be transmitted to humans by fruit bats that live in central Africa. It can also be spread through direct person-to-person contact. This includes contact with blood or other bodily fluids or objects that have been contaminated – such as bedding and clothing.
Marburg virus incubates in humans for 2 to 21 days before causing symptoms. However, the warning signs, when they do appear, initially resemble those of other tropical diseases such as Ebola and malaria. Patients show high fever, headache, muscle aches and malaise. Often, they have abdominal pain, cramps and acute diarrhea. Many people bleed from various parts of the body and die eight to nine days after symptoms appear, due to extreme blood loss and shock. On average, the virus kills half of the infected, according to the WHO, but its most dangerous strains, have killed up to 88%. As there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the virus, doctors only prescribe drugs to relieve symptoms.
SOURCE: Daily Mail
