After mpox outbreak, Africa is under the threat of yet another virus outbreak, this is the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda. So far, six people have died from the outbreak, confirmed the health minister. Most victims were the healthcare workers in the hospital's intensive care unit. As per reports, 20 cases have been identified since the outbreak was confirmed on Friday.

What Is Marbug Virus?

With the fatality rate of 8% it is the same virus family as Ebola. The main carrier is from fruit bats which spreads to humans then through the contact of bodily fluids of infected individuals, it spreads to others.

Common Signs And Symptoms

The common signs and symptoms of the Marburg virus include fever, pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and in the case of extreme blood loss, death too can happen.

So far, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for the virus. However, treatments like drugs and immune therapy are being developed as per the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Call Of Action

Rwanda says that it has intensified its contact tracing, surveillance and testing to contain the spread. It has also tracked about 300 people who had come into contact with individuals affected by the Marburg virus.

The health minister has urged people to stay vigilant and avoid any physical contact and to wash their hands with clean water, soap or sanitiser and report any suspected case.

As of now, most of the cases have spread to the capital in Kigali. In light of this, the US Embassy in the city has advised its employees to work remotely for the next week.

This is the first time Rwanda has confirmed for Marburg cases, before this, in 2023, Tanzania confirmed the outbreak, whereas three people had died of this in Uganda in 2017.

History Of Marburg

As per WHO, this virus kills half of the people it infects. In the previous outbreaks, it has killed between 24% to 88% of the patients.

The virus was first detected in 1976 after 31 people were infected, out of which 7 died in simultaneous outbreak in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and Belgrade in Serbia.

The source was traced to African green monkeys who were imported from Uganda. However, other animals too are linked to the virus spread, including bats.

In the past, the virus outbreaks have happened in countries like Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. In 2005, this virus killed 300 people in Angola.

However, for the rest of the world, only two people have died from the virus in the rest of the world, with one of them being in Europe, and the other in the US. These both have been on expeditions to caves in Uganda.

Artificial intelligence has taken another step forward in biology. Scientists have created viruses designed by AI and shown that they can work in the laboratory, showing promise for new treatments. But this has also triggered concerns about biosecurity.

The viruses are bacteriophages, or viruses that infect bacteria rather than humans. Researchers led by Dr Brian Hie, a chemical engineer at Stanford University, used AI models called Evo1 and Evo2 to design functioning genomes for these viruses. The models were trained using genetic data from around 2 million bacteriophages.

The researchers generated thousands of potential viral genomes and selected nearly 300 to manufacture and test in the laboratory. Only 16 ultimately proved viable.

However, a combination of the AI-designed viruses was able to kill two strains of E coli that had developed resistance to naturally occurring bacteriophages.

How Can AI Design A Virus?

The technology works like the large language models behind AI chatbots, but instead of learning patterns in human language, genome language models learn patterns in genetic sequences.

The AI was able to generate genetic instructions for new bacteriophages, which were then produced in the laboratory and tested against bacteria.

This matters because bacteriophages are already being explored as a treatment for persistent bacterial infections.

If scientists can rapidly design viruses that target specific bacteria and overcome resistance, the approach could strengthen phage therapy, particularly as antibiotic resistance continues to complicate treatment.

The researchers said the ability to rapidly design genomes and adapt them to particular bacteria could “transform phage therapy” and expand biotechnology.

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So Why Are Scientists Worried?

The viruses created in this experiment were designed to infect bacteria. The researchers also deliberately excluded genetic information from viruses that infect humans, animals and plants from the AI's training data, reducing the chance of the system generating dangerous pathogens.

But the experiment demonstrates something bigger: AI can now produce functioning viral genomes.

That raises questions about what could happen if similar technology were trained on genetic information from harmful pathogens.

Prof Tom Inglesby and Dr Moritz Hanke of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University warned that the ability to create viral genomes using generative AI now exists, but the systems and regulations needed to govern the AI have not caught up.

They warned that genomes designed for human, animal or plant pathogens could potentially generate new threats that existing measures may not be equipped to contain.

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Is AI-Created Biological Warfare Already A Reality?

Tom Ellis, a professor of synthetic genome engineering at Imperial College London, said the experiment was impressive but pointed out that bacteriophages have extremely small and relatively simple genomes.

He also argued that fears surrounding fully AI-designed pathogens may currently be overstated. He said that modifying existing pathogens to make them more dangerous remains a much easier and more immediate concern.

Dr Filippa Lentzos of King's College London said the solution should not focus only on AI. Instead, safeguards should extend across the entire process, including AI development and access, research, DNA synthesis screening and lab biosafety.

An 18-year-old woman is in critical condition after an acidic substance was allegedly administered instead of an anaesthetic during nose surgery at a private hospital in Israel.

Police have launched an investigation into suspected negligence after the woman suffered severe burns to her face and respiratory system during the procedure on Friday.

What Happened During The Surgery?

The teenager had previously been injured in an accident on Highway 35 in southern Israel in 2024. She was admitted to the private hospital on Friday morning for a nose surgery.

According to allegations being investigated by police, the anaesthesiologist confused two substances and administered an acidic substance instead of the anaesthetic drug. The error reportedly caused severe burns to the woman's face and respiratory system.

The surgeon eventually noticed what was happening and stopped the procedure. A medical team was called into the operating room and the woman was intubated, with a breathing tube inserted into her windpipe. She was then sedated and placed on a ventilator.

She was subsequently transferred to Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit.

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Chemical Injuries In The Respiratory System

The respiratory system is particularly vulnerable to chemical injuries. Damage to the airway can cause severe inflammation and swelling, making it difficult for a person to breathe.

This is why doctors may need to secure the airway quickly through intubation and use a ventilator to support breathing while the injury is tended to.

In this case, the damage was serious enough to require another emergency operation. On Saturday evening, an expanded team of around 10 doctors at Sourasky Medical Center performed surgery to treat severe damage to her windpipe. The young woman remained sedated in the intensive care unit after the procedure.

More updates about her well-being are being awaited.

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Police Investigate Medical Negligence

The local police are now investigating the incident, particularly how the alleged mix-up of the acidic substance and anaesthetic drug occurred.

The most crucial factor to investigate in this case is whether it was an unavoidable error or gross medical negligence.

The incident has also raised concerns about careful identification and handling of medication and substance during critical surgeries surgery.

Anaesthesia involves the administration of multiple drugs and substances, making accurate identification and handling critical to patient safety.

The Israeli Health Ministry said it had not been notified about the incident. “According to an inquiry conducted by the ministry, the incident was not reported to the Health Ministry,” the ministry said in a statement.

The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not yet established who was responsible for the alleged error or whether any medico-criminal charges will follow.

For now, the 18-year-old remains in intensive care as doctors continue treating the severe injuries to her airway and respiratory system.

Back pain is often treated as a problem that comes with ageing, but new research suggests that some forms of spinal degeneration may have specific biological trigger, and an existing osteoporosis drug could help treat it.

A study published in Communications Biology found that a class of osteoporosis drugs called bisphosphonates reduced abnormal mineralisation in the spinal tissues of genetically modified zebrafish.

The findings show promise in treating intervertebral disc degeneration, a major cause of chronic back and neck pain.

What Did The Study Find?

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and University of Bristol studied zebrafish lacking a functioning copy of the col9a1b gene. This gene is linked to collagen IX, an important structural component of spinal discs.

As the fish aged, they developed changes resembling human disc degeneration. Their vertebrae began to fuse and mineral deposits accumulated in the ligaments between the vertebrae, making the normally flexible spinal structures increasingly hard.

The researchers found that the mineralisation was preceded by deterioration of the structural tissue supporting that supported the developing spine.

They also identified changes in lipid metabolism, mTOR signalling, phosphate regulation and vitamin A-related pathways.

Most importantly, when researchers treated the animals with etidronate, a bisphosphonate, mineral accumulation was reduced. Other interventions targeting fat metabolism also reduced spinal fusion.

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Why Is Disc Mineralisation A Problem?

Intervertebral discs act as cushions between the bones of the spine. They allow the back to bend and move while absorbing daily physiological stress.

With disc degeneration, the disc's structure can wear off. Abnormal mineralisation can make these tissues stiffer and contribute to vertebral fusion, making movement challenging and contributing to pain.

Currently, there are no medications that can reliably stop or reverse intervertebral disc degeneration. Treatment generally focuses on pain management, physiotherapy and lifestyle measures, while severe cases may eventually require surgery.

Also read: Yoga Poses That Can Fix Your Kid's 'Slouched' Posture

More About The Osteoporosis Drugs

Bisphosphonates are already widely used to protect bones in people with osteoporosis. They work by slowing the activity of cells that break down bone.

In this study, however, their potential benefit appeared to involve something different: preventing minerals from accumulating where they should not.

Study lead Dr Erika Kague said the research could help with alternatives to surgery. “For decades, surgery has been the only real answer for disc disease,” Kague said.

She added that the findings suggest several ways of slowing the process, including a drug already used in patients.

Dr Caroline Aylott of Arthritis UK said the findings offer “fresh hope” for the millions of people living with back pain and could help scientists move closer to new treatments.

Researchers caution that the findings are promising but still early and that larger trials will be needed to validate the study. Also, this was an animal study, not a clinical trial in people with back pain.

Researchers will need to establish whether the same biological process occurs in humans and whether bisphosphonates can safely and effectively prevent or slow disc degeneration in patients.