Busia County Governor Sospeter Ojaamong. [Photo| Courtesy]Health officials in Busia and Malaba border towns are on high alert following the outbreak of Marburg Virus, the Ebola-like disease in the Eastern Ugandan town of Kaween which borders Kenya.Busia County Director of Health Services Dr Janerose Ambuchi said any deadly disease outbreak in the neighbouring country is a threat to the county and the country at large.Uganda's health officials confirmed two people had died from the Marburg virus, in the country's first outbreak of the deadly disease in three years.Reports said of the two casualties, one was a male hunter who died on September 25. His 50-year-old sister died on October 11.Dr Ambuchi said public health officers have been advised to institute stringent measures including screening of people entering the country through the border points of Busia and Malaba."We shall also sensitize our people who travel to Uganda on the dangers posed by the Marburg Virus and report to health authorities when they notice any symptoms related to the diseases," she said.The Marburg virus is one of the most deadly known pathogens. Like Ebola, it is a hemorrhagic fever - it causes severe bleeding, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. It has a 21-day incubation period.Like Ebola, the Marburg virus is also transmitted via contact with bodily fluids and fatality rates range from 25 to 80%.According to the Uganda Virus Research Institute, the first known case of Marburg in the country was in the western district of Kamwenge in 2007.A 2012 outbreak killed 10 people and in 2014 one man died.

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