Travelers have been alerted due to the rampant escalation of Marburg, Mpox, and Oropouche viruses, impacting 17 countries to date.

The harrowing “bleeding eyes” virus, known as Marburg, has claimed 15 lives in Rwanda alone, with potentially hundreds more infected. This lethal disease kills half of those it strikes and is considered among the planet’s most fatal pathogens.

There’s a looming threat that it may breach Rwandan borders and infect neighboring African nations already grappling with other viral scourges.

Meanwhile, Mpox clade 1 has surfaced beyond its previous five-country boundary within Africa to nations like Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Uganda, and Kenya. Alarmingly, the UK has identified five Mpox cases this year, including four from one London household who had visited Africa in October and a recent case in Leeds linked to travel from Uganda.

The risk to the west remains minimal, but Travel Health Pro has issued a cautionary note for travelers moving in and out of the country to exercise additional care. It recommends consulting with a healthcare professional about fitness for travel before embarking on international trips.

The advisory states, “In particular, pregnant and immunosuppressed people are known to be at higher risk of severe infection. Check your travel health insurance before you go.”

Travelers are urged to avoid contact with individuals who appear unwell or exhibit a rash, maintain hand hygiene by washing regularly and using hand sanitiser and refrain from touching their faces. The disease spreads through non-sexual close contact and sexual contact.

Additionally, midge bites have been identified as a transmission method for the Oropouche virus, which is currently spreading across several South American countries and a Caribbean state frequented by tourists.

This year, over 10,000 infections have been reported in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic. There are no specific treatments or vaccines for the virus, and it has resulted in fatalities.

Travel Health Pro cautioned that while Marburg “is rare and very unusual in travellers, sporadic cases have been reported in travelers who spent prolonged periods in mines or caves inhabited by bat colonies.” The disease can spread through contact with broken skin, blood, secretions, bodily fluids, and mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth, of infected individuals.

Marburg, as per the World Health Organization, has an incubation period ranging from two to 21 days and can onset suddenly. Initial symptoms encompass fever, severe headaches, intense malaise, and muscle aches and pains.

As the disease progresses, severe watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea, vomiting, and a non-itchy rash may develop.

Beyond the fifth day, additional symptoms may include fresh blood in vomit and feces, bleeding from the nose, gums, vagina, eyes, mouth and ears, internal bleeding, confusion, irritability, aggression or inflammation of the testicles. If these symptoms persist, individuals are at risk of death, typically due to extreme blood loss or shock.

Symptoms of mpox may not manifest until up to 21 days post-infection. The most prominent and frequent symptom is a month-long rash that resembles blisters and sores, affecting the face, palms, soles of feet, groin, genitals and anal area.

Other symptoms include high temperature, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, shivering, exhaustion and joint pain.

For Oropouche, it’s believed that initial symptoms emerge around three to 10 days post-infection and can last for up to a week. These symptoms include fever, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, chills, nausea, vomiting and a rash.