Status: 02/14/2023 03:03
Nine people have died from the highly dangerous Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea. The WHO confirmed the first outbreak in the country. The government quarantined more than 4,000 people.
The World Health Organization has confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea for the first time. Nine people have died and there are 16 other suspected cases with symptoms including fever, exhaustion, diarrhea and vomiting, the WHO said.
Health Minister Mitoha Ondo’o Ayekaba said that in consultation with the WHO and the United Nations (UNO), a “health alert” had been declared for the province of Kié-Ntem and the neighboring district of Mongomo in the north-east of the country. More than 4,000 people have been quarantined.
WHO sends experts
Samples sent from Equatorial Guinea to a laboratory in Senegal last week confirmed the suspicions of a health official in the sub-Saharan country.
The nine deaths were found between January 7th and February 7th, Minister Ondo’o Ayekaba explained. In addition, a “suspicious” death on February 10 is being investigated.
The WHO said it was sending professionals to Equatorial Guinea to help fight the disease. Protective equipment for medical staff will also be supplied.
“Teams have been deployed in affected districts to locate contacts,” WHO said. People showing symptoms of the disease should be isolated and given medical attention.
Often fatal without treatment
Like the Ebola virus, the Marburg virus spreads through close contact with bodily fluids from infected people or surfaces such as contaminated bedding. Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal 88 percent of the time. Symptoms of Marburg fever include a high fever and severe headache.
The rare virus was discovered in 1967 when it infected people working in laboratories in Marburg, Hesse, and in Belgrade. Seven people died after being infected with the virus during experiments on monkeys.
There are no approved vaccines against the virus. In a 2004 outbreak in Angola, 80 percent of the 252 people infected died from the virus. In 2022, two deaths from the Marburg virus were reported in Ghana.