This Kenya Cave, Believed To Be Source Of Ebola, Could Cause Next Pandemic

The world's deadliest cave Kitum, located in Mount Elgon National Park in Kenya, could cause the next pandemic, as per a report in Science Times. The cave turned out to be home to some of the deadliest viruses in human history. Ebola virus and Marburg virus were reported to have started there. Now, experts worry that it may be home to the next pandemic- the Marburg virus, The World Health Organisation issued a warning, stating that the Marburg virus was "epidemic prone."

According to the report, Marburg is a "highly virulent disease that causes hemorrhagic fever." The illness lowers the body's functional capacity and harms the cardiovascular system. With a mortality rate of up to 88 per cent, the virus is related to the virus that causes Ebola. Fruit bats, which are widespread throughout central Africa, can also spread the virus from person to person by contact with an infected person's body fluids. Additionally, the disease can be transmitted to other people by touching towels or other objects that have come into contact with an infected individual.

Notably, the virus takes at least three weeks to "incubate" before a patient starts showing symptoms. However, the warning signs mostly resemble those of malaria and Ebola. Several people infected with the virus develop deep-set eyes and expressionless faces. It can also cause bleeding from the vagina, eyes, nose, and gums, in later stages. Unfortunately, no vaccines are available for the virus and doctors treat symptoms by medications and fluids.

Meanwhile, in 1980, while investigating Kitum Cave, a French engineer employed at a nearby sugar mill came into touch with the body-melting Marburg virus. He soon died at a Nairobi hospital. The man's fast decline from viral hemorrhagic or blood-letting fever was described in a book about the case as "as if the face is detaching itself from the skull," with his face seeming to hang from the underlying bone as the connective tissue dissolved. Years later, a Danish boy on vacation with his family became the victim of the deadly caves. He also died from a similar hemorrhagic virus called Ravn.

The important salty minerals discovered in the cave have drawn not just elephants but also buffaloes, antelope, leopards, and hyenas from western Kenya, making Kitum a breeding ground for zoonotic infections, the researchers said. The 600-foot-deep cave has been continuously dug and expanded by elephants, only to have disease-carrying bats make it their home, the Science Times report added.