A picturesque, "must visit" site for tourists in Kenya—the Kitum Cave—has an unsettling history: that of being home to some of the deadliest diseases known to humankind.
Located in Kenya's Mount Elgon National Park, the Kitum Cave was reportedly the origin point for the Ebola and Marburg viruses, of which the latter has been termed as 'epidemic-prone' by the World Health Organization (WHO).
But, how did the Ebola and Marburg viruses find a home in the cave?
An unsettling pastAccording to several reports, when the Kitum Cave was initially discovered, scientists found scratches along its walls, which, at the time, were attributed to ancient Egyptian workers scraping the cave walls in search of valuable minerals and gems.
However, that theory was put to the test in the 1980s, after a French engineer from a nearby sugar factory contracted the Marburg virus in the depths of the cave and succumbed shortly afterwards at a Nairobi hospital.
A picturesque, "must visit" site for tourists in Kenya—the Kitum Cave—has an unsettling history: that of being home to some of the deadliest diseases known to humankind.
Located in Kenya's Mount Elgon National Park, the Kitum Cave was reportedly the origin point for the Ebola and Marburg viruses, of which the latter has been termed as 'epidemic-prone' by the World Health Organization (WHO).
But, how did the Ebola and Marburg viruses find a home in the cave? We take a look.
An unsettling past
According to several reports, when the Kitum Cave was initially discovered, scientists found scratches along its walls, which, at the time, were attributed to ancient Egyptian workers scraping the cave walls in search of valuable minerals and gems.
However, that theory was put to the test in the 1980s, after a French engineer from a nearby sugar factory contracted the Marburg virus in the depths of the cave and succumbed shortly afterwards at a Nairobi hospital.
"Connective tissue in his face is dissolving and his face appears to hang from the underlying bone," noted a book, describing the disturbing symptoms endured by the Frenchman prior to his demise from hemorrhagic or blood-letting fever brought about by the Marburg virus.
