Two passengers suspected of having the deadly Marburg virus have forced the closure of a major German station amid fears that a highly infectious Ebola-like disease has reached Europe.
Police cordoned off tracks seven and eight for several hours at Hamburg station and commuters were released from the platforms after emergency services in full protective suits boarded the ICE from Frankfurt.
Local reports have claimed that two passengers on board have apparently been infected with the deadly “eye-bleeding” virus.
One of the passengers is a man, reportedly a 26-year-old German medical student, who boarded the Hamburg-bound ICE train with his girlfriend on Wednesday afternoon in Frankfurt.
During the train ride, they both developed flu-like symptoms.
According to Bild, the student had previously arrived by plane directly from Rwanda, where he had contact with a patient who doctors later diagnosed as infected with the Marburg virus.
Police cordoned off tracks seven and eight for several hours at Hamburg station and commuters were released from the platforms after emergency services in full protective suits boarded the ICE from Frankfurt.
The Marburg virus, a relative of Ebola, causes people to bleed from the orifices and kills up to 9 in 10 of those infected.
MVD has a mortality rate of up to 88 percent. There are currently no vaccines or treatments approved to treat the virus.
Colored scanning electron micrograph of Marburg virus particles
The UK government has issued warnings about an untreatable Ebola-like virus (which kills up to nine in 10 people it infects) currently spreading in Africa.
Marburg, one of the deadliest pathogens ever discovered, has already killed 10 people in Rwanda, and around 300 people are being monitored for suspected infection.
In a statement, UK health chiefs demanded that companies provide additional monitoring of employees visiting the African nation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) previously described the situation as being of “great concern”, adding that there is a high risk of the outbreak spreading to other African countries.
Last year, an outbreak of the virus, which causes patients to bleed from their eyes, occurred in nearby Tanzania.
The disease caused by Marburg virus begins very suddenly, with high fever, severe headache, and severe general malaise.
Muscle aches and pains are also common symptoms of the virus. Generally on the third day, severe diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps, nausea and vomiting may appear. Diarrhea can last a week.
There are currently no vaccines or treatments available, meaning doctors focus on helping patients survive the infection.
This often puts healthcare workers at direct risk of the virus being transmitted through infected body fluids.
