Hamburg Train Platforms Closed Over Suspected Deadly Virus Cases

Authorities shut down parts of the Hamburg Central Railway Station on October 2 after they suspected two passengers of carrying the deadly Marburg virus. (Wikimedia Commons)

Two passengers forced the shutdown and evacuation of multiple platforms of the Hamburg Central Railway Station on October 2 after authorities suspected them of carrying the deadly Marburg virus. The two passengers developed flu-like symptoms on the train while returning from a trip to Rwanda, where a massive outbreak of Marburg is occurring. Officials have since announced that the two passengers tested negative for Marburg.

Health officials in Rwanda declared a Marburg outbreak within the country on September 27. As of October 2, 36 cases have been confirmed in the African country, along with 11 deaths. The source of the outbreak is so far unclear, but authorities first detected the disease in patients within health facilities. While the outbreak is still in its early stages,Rwanda is facing what is suspected to be the fourth largest Marburg outbreak in history.

A 26-year-old medical student and his girlfriend were the passengers suspected of carrying Marburg. While in Rwanda, the medical student had been in contact with a patient who doctors later diagnosed with Marburg. After developing flu-like symptoms and beginning to vomit on a train from Frankfurt to Hamburg, the passengers contacted local authorities, who shut down two platforms in Hamburg for multiple hours on and evacuated the rest of the train. 

Emergency services transported the two patients to the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, which specializes in tropical diseases, where they tested negative for the virus. As a precaution, the medical student will quarantine for the full duration of the virus’ 21-day incubation period. Health authorities have stated that there is no risk of infection for fellow passengers who were on the train with the student and his girlfriend.

Marburg is a highly infectious and deadly virus that shares many similarities with the Ebola virus. Symptoms can include high fever, headache, muscle pains, bloody diarrhea, and vomiting. The virus is not airborne; humans can only transmit the sickness through contact with bodily fluids. Fatality rates of the virus are high, ranging from 24 to 88 percent, depending on strain and case management. Although researchers are working on vaccines to prevent the spread of Marburg, there are no existing treatments for the disease.

Scientists first identified the virus in 1967 in the German localities of Marburg and Frankfurt as well as in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Since Marburg’s discovery,various outbreaks have ravaged the world. Most notably, an 2004-2005 outbreak in Angola killed more than 200 people, and over 100 people died in an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1998-2000. Recently, much smaller outbreaks have occurred in other African countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, and Ghana.

While the two suspected cases at the Hamburg station were false alarms, the situation has heightened fears of the possibility of future cases expanding outside of Rwanda. Marburg is challenging to diagnose because of the similarity in symptoms to other diseases,such as malaria and Ebola. The WHO has warned travelers about the presence of Marburg within Rwanda’s capital, Kigali,  increasing the risk of the virus’ spread to other countries through their international airport.