By: Yifei Mei

The deadly cousin of the Ebola virus, the Marburg virus has made its way to a new part of the world. This week, World Health Organization officials announced that Ghana, an African nation, is now experiencing its first documented outbreak of Marburg. At least two people have caught this virus so far, and both have died.

Marburg is caused by the Marburg virus. It’s named after the German town where one of the first documented outbreaks of the virus appeared in 1967.

The Marburg virus can spread from animals that’re infected, including bats. “The public is therefore advised to avoid caves inhabited by bat colonies and to cook all meat products thoroughly before consumption,” the Ghanian Health Authorities advised.

The Marburg and Ebola virus belong to the same filovirus family. They cause very similar symptoms. These symptoms are flu-like illness, followed by rash, vomiting, chest abdominal pain, and diarrhea. The infection can become life-threatening, causing internal bleeding, organ failure, and shock. Its mortality rate ranges from 24% to over 88%.

The Marburg has infected humans less than Ebola. The biggest documented outbreak of Marburg occurred during 2004-2005 in Angola. It left over 200 people dead. Ebola’s largest outbreak was mainly in West Africa. It sickened around 30k people and killed about 11k from 2014-2016. This is the second time Marburg has been reported in West Africa in many years, following a case reported in September 2021 in Guinea.

The two cases in Ghana are unrelated to each other, but both victims lived in the southern region of Ashanti (in south Ghana). They also sought care at the same hospital in late June. Samples from each patient were tested by two labs. One of them was affiliated with the WHO. Both were confirmed with the presence of Marburg.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti said in a statement, “Health authorities have responded swiftly, getting a head start preparing for a possible outbreak. This is good because without immediate and decisive action, Marburg can easily get out of hand.”

Over 90 contacts of patients have been identified by the authorities including health care workers are now being monitored.

Moeti said, “WHO is on the ground supporting health authorities and now that the outbreak is declared, we are marshalling more resources for the response.”

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/18/africa/ghana-first-marburg-outbreak-intl/index.html