Home   >   News   >   WHO reports outbreak of potentially deadly Marburg virus in Ghana

WHO reports outbreak of potentially deadly Marburg virus in Ghana

By on July 18, 2022

Ghana, has announced the country’s first outbreak of Marburg virus disease, after a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre laboratory confirmed earlier results.

Two men from Ghana’s southern Ashanti region both died after seeking treatment late last month although these were two unrelated cases.

The first case was a 26-year-old male who died the following day after he checked into a hospital on June 26. The 51-year old male died on the same day he went to the hospital to seek treatment.

WHO regional director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti said “Health authorities have responded swiftly, getting a head start preparing for a possible outbreak.”

Marburg is a highly infectious viral haemorrhagic fever in the same Ebola family for which there are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments.  More than 90 contacts, including health workers and community members, have been identified and are being monitored, the WHO said.

The potentially dangerous virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Illness begins abruptly, with high fever, severe headache and malaise. Many patients develop severe haemorrhagic signs within seven days.

Case fatality rates in past outbreaks have ranged from 24 per cent to 88 per cent.  WHO says, “supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival.”

A range of potential treatments, including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies, as well as candidate vaccines with phase 1 data are being evaluated.

About TF Tribe