Marburg virus: What is the bleeding eye disease as UK holidaymakers issued stark travel warning - full list of symptoms

At least 66 people have been infected and 15 people have died from an outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in Rwanda as of November 29, according to an update from the country's Ministry of Health. MVD, which is frequently fatal and is related to the much better-known Ebola virus, is sometimes known as "bleeding eye disease" because it damages people's blood vessels, causing them to bleed from various orifices including their eyes.

In October the WHO warned against all travel to Rwanda, while the UK's national public health agency warned travellers visiting Rwanda to avoid a host of activities such as participating in burial rituals or coming into contact with wild animals. The disease is just one of several viruses that have concerned global health experts in recent weeks, with further cases of monkeypox (often shortened to "Mpox") identified in the UK and California.

Outbreaks of the Oropouche virus have also been reported in several countries including Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, and Peru, according to Travel Health Pro. As of October 5, a total of 10,275 confirmed cases, including two fatalities, have been reported in the Americas since the beginning of the year.

The Marburg virus was first described by scientists in 1967 following an outbreak in the German cities of Marburg and Frankfurt, and the-then Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade. It's part of a family of microrganisms known as filoviruses, which also includes the deadly Ebola.

MVD is thought to be generally spread to humans via fruit bats, and can incubate quietly in a person's body without symptoms for up to 21 days (the average is five to nine days). After entering human communities, Marburg virus can propagate via person-to-person contact through bodily fluids, and interaction with infected materials and surfaces.

Symptoms of the disease can appear "abruptly", with high fever, severe headache, and muscle aches and pains being common. Severe watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea and vomiting typically begin on the third day.

Patients have reported non-itchy rashes between two and seven days after symptoms start. From the fifth day, patients may develop haemorrhagic manifestations, including fresh blood in vomit and faeces, and bleeding from the nose, gums, eyes and vagina. In fatal cases, death usually occurs between eight and nine days after symptom onset, often preceded by severe blood loss and shock.