Did the WHO just announce a new pandemic virus called Marburg?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Did WHO Announce A New Pandemic Virus Called Marburg?
People are sharing this video of WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announcing an outbreak of the new Marburg virus in the country of Guinea in West Africa.
For your reference, here is a transcript of what Dr. Tedros said and the video (with our overlays to prevent abuse) :
The Ministry of Health of Guinea informed WHO of a case of Marburg virus disease in the country’s south west [region], a man who died 8 days after onset of symptoms.
This is the first known case of Marburg in West Africa.
WHO and our partners are supporting Guinea’s Ministry of Health to investigate the source of the outbreak, trace contacts and inform the local community about how to protect themselves.
About 150 contacts have been identified and are being followed up, including 3 family members and a health worker who have been identified as high-risk close contacts.
Marburg is a very different virus to the one that cause COVID-19, but many of the elements of the response are the same – isolating and caring for those infected, tracing and quarantining their contacts and engaging local communities in the response.
There is no licensed vaccine for Marburg, although there are vaccines under development. And WHO is working with our partners to seek opportunities to assist them during this outbreak through the R&D blueprint for epidemics.
Anti-vaccination activists like Graham Hood, a former Qantas pilot, are using this Marburg virus announcement to claim that COVID-19 vaccination is “pointless” :
For those of you who think that being vaccinated is going to return us to a normal life, have a look at the news today from …
Dr Tedros from the World Health Organisation, who announced there is a new pandemic coming, there is a new virus that’s not linked to COVID and it’s called Marburg.
His advice is for countries to treat Marburg as they have treated COVID. A different vaccination is already being worked on … they knew about it before they announced it. They have been working on the vaccine for a while.
Truth : WHO Did Not Announce A New Pandemic Virus Called Marburg
This is yet another example of viral fake news circulating on WhatsApp, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Marburg Virus Is Not New
Marburg virus is NOT a new virus. It was actually discovered in 1967, in Marburg, Germany. Hence, the name – Marburg virus.
It spread to the Frankfurt, as well as Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia. 31 people were infected, and 7 of them died.
Fact #2 : Marburg Virus Is Similar To Ebola
The Marburg virus belongs to the same Filoviridae (filovirus) family as Ebola viruses, and cause clinically similar diseases characterised by haemorrhagic fever and capillary leakage.
Like Ebola, Marburg has a high mortality rate, varying from 24% to 88%, with an average of 50%.
Fact #3 : Video Was From 9 August 2021
The video was recorded on 9 August 2021, so it’s not a new video.
Fact #4 : Marburg Outbreak Was Over By September 2021
The Ministry of Health of Guinea informed WHO of one confirmed case of Marburg disease virus (MVD) in south-western Guinea on 6 August 2021.
The Ministry of Health of Guinea declared the end of the outbreak on 16 September 2021.
Fact #5 : Only One Person Died
A total of 173 contacts were identified, including 14 high-risk contacts. Fortunately, no one else developed symptoms.
Only the man, who was identified as the first known case of Marburg virus disease in Guinea, died.
Fact #6 : Marburg Virus Has Low Pandemic Risk
Marburg virus primarily transmits through direct contact with blood and/or bodily fluids of infected persons or animals; and through exposure to infected Rousettus bats.
This greatly reduces its transmissibility, compared to a respiratory virus like SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19.
So while Marburg is more likely to kill an infected person than SARS-CoV-2, it does not transmit as easily and is very unlikely to become a pandemic.
Fact #7 : Marburg Virus Has No Relevance To COVID-19 Pandemic
Anti-vaccination activists like Graham Hood, a former Qantas pilot, are using this Marburg virus announcement as “evidence” that vaccination is useless and pointless.
Their contention is – why get vaccinated against COVID-19 when new viruses like Marburg will keep coming up, with new vaccines?
Obviously, Marburg is not a new virus as I mentioned earlier. But more importantly, it is not related to SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19.
Whether there is a Marburg outbreak or not, the COVID-19 vaccines will protect us against infection, hospitalisation or death from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Fact #8 : Marburg Vaccines Have Been Under Development For Years
Marburg vaccines have been under development for years because it was discovered a long time ago.
The claim that WHO was secretly working on the vaccines before announcing this “new virus” is completely FALSE, and is based on their ignorance that Marburg virus was discovered 55 years ago!
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