The spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Health, Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, confirmed the absence of the deadly Marburg virus in his country. This was in response to reports of virus infections in Egypt and fears of its spread. In his television statements, he said that Egypt follows epidemic vigilance and surveillance plans in all health outlets and monitors risk factors in countries that have reported infections to prevent the virus from entering the country. He added that the Preventive Medicine Sector in Egypt works in coordination with the World Health Organization and international health authorities to monitor any epidemic spread worldwide. He pointed out that fruit bats are the natural reservoir for the virus and are not present in the Egyptian environment, which eliminates the primary source of infection and reduces fears of its spread in the country. He noted that the virus is transmitted through body fluids, requiring close and direct contact over long periods for transmission. He explained that symptoms of infection include high fever, diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, cramps, and nausea, and can lead to bleeding resulting in death. He confirmed that the virus is medically known since 1967, and the health sector knows how to deal with it, despite the lack of a specific treatment so far. He stressed that Egypt is not recording any suspected cases or infections with the virus, and there are no intensive flights between Egypt and countries where the virus has spread as an epidemic. He concluded his statements by saying that the Egyptian surveillance system is working efficiently to ensure rapid detection and prevent the transmission of any possible source of infection. The virus had recently spread in Ethiopia and in many other East African countries.
