NATIONAL BRIEFING / COLORADO
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The first U.S. case of Marburg hemorrhagic fever has been confirmed in Colorado, in a patient who contracted the rare illness while traveling in Uganda and later recovered, authorities said.
The disease, caused by a virus indigenous to Africa, spreads through contact with infected animals or the bodily fluids of infected humans. The patient visited a python cave in Maramagambo Forest in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park and encountered fruit bats, which can carry the Marburg virus. The Ugandan government closed the cave after a tourist from the Netherlands died from Marburg in July.
The patient was treated at a Colorado hospital in January 2008 and sought follow-up care in July after learning of the tourist’s death. The patient’s identity wasn’t disclosed.
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