And the Marburg now to be scary. After monkeypox, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa Office reported the identification in Ghana of two suspected cases of virus disease Marburga highly infectious viral haemorrhagic fever of the same family as Ebola. Investigations are underway, in the meantime the WHO and the local authorities are preparing the necessary to manage a possible epidemic.
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Preliminary analysis of the samples taken from the two patients (both deceased and unrelated) was performed by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and indicated positivity for Marburg. The samples were then sent for confirmation to Senegal, to the Institut Pasteur in Dakar, a center that collaborates with the WHO.
Marburg epidemic risk
“The health authorities are on the ground to investigate the situation and prepare for a possible response to the epidemic. We are working closely with the country’s authorities to increase detection, contact tracing and be ready to control the spread of the virus, ”said Francis Kasolo, WHO representative in Ghana. Marburg is transmitted to people by fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with infected body fluids, surfaces and materials. Many patients develop severe bleeding within seven days.
Record-breaking mortality rates
Mortality rates for Marburg, recalls the WHO, in past outbreaks it was between 24% and 88%, depending on the strain of the virus and how the emergency was managed. There are no vaccines or antiviral therapies approved to treat the virus, but supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms improve survival. “A series of possible treatments are being evaluated, including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies,” explains WHO.
Marburg, the symptoms of the virus
I symptoms of the disease caused by the Marburg virus include headache, regurgitation of blood and muscle aches. Infection is transmitted by contact with infected blood and other body fluids or tissues. There are no vaccines or approved treatments to deal with this virus. In Africa, there have been outbreaks and sporadic cases in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, in addition to the case found in August 2022 in Gueckedou prefecture in southern Guinea. It is called the Marburg virus because the first known outbreak, with about thirty people affected, occurred in West Germany in 1967, in Marburg and Frankfurt, with two other cases in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. It was caused by some infected monkeys, who were sent to three different laboratories in Europe.
Marburg, confirmed cases in Ghana
The authorities of the Ghana confirmed two suspected virus positive cases of Marburg, similar to the Ebola virus, which would be the first in the country and the second in West Africa, after the virus was identified last year in Guinea. The director general of the Ghanaian health service, Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said that “the disease (Marburg hemorrhagic fever, ed.) Was suspected after the identification of two people who matched the definition of acute hemorrhagic fever, in two places distinct of the Ashanti region. Preliminary results suggest that the infection is due to the Marburg virus. The samples were sent for confirmation to the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, with the help of the WHO ».
Kuma Aboagye also reported that a total of 34 patient contacts, both of whom died, ‘have been identified and quarantined. They are under the supervision of the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate ”. She then invited the population to go to the doctor if they experience symptoms of the disease. WHO representative in Ghana, Francis Kasolo, said that “the health authorities are on the ground, investigating the situation and preparing to respond to a possible outbreak. We are working closely to increase detection, contact tracing and are prepared to control the spread of the virus, ”he said, underlining that WHO is deploying experts to support the Ghanaian authorities in these efforts.
Last updated: Friday 8 July 2022, 4:42 pm
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