Outbreak of highly contagious Marburg virus reported in Ghana

Image of a doctor holding a test tube containing a blood sample.

Image of a doctor holding a test tube containing a blood sample. Credit: Mauro Rodrigues/Shutterstock.com

TWO cases of the deadly Marburg virus, a highly contagious disease that belongs to the same family as the Ebola virus, have been confirmed in Ghana.

According to early reports, 98 people in the West African country are believed to be in quarantine and the two people infected with the deadly Marburg virus have died.

Both patients died recently in a hospital in the southern Ashanti region after testing positive for the virus earlier this month.

Worryingly, there appears to be no treatment for this highly virulent disease that causes haemorrhagic fever and has a fatality ratio of up to 88 per cent, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The virus is “transmitted to humans from prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies.”

The WHO states that “once an individual is infected with the virus, Marburg can spread through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.”

Symptoms of Marburg virus include headache, fever, muscle pain, vomiting of blood and bleeding.

“In fatal cases, death usually occurs between 8 and 9 days after onset, usually preceded by severe blood loss and shock,” WHO said.

Ghana health authorities are warning people to stay away from caves and to cook all meat products thoroughly before eating.

Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, WHO said.

The first Marburg outbreak occurred simultaneously in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1967, which led to the initial recognition of the disease. Seven people died.

According to the World Health Organisation, more than 200 people died from the virus in Angola in 2005 – the deadliest outbreak to date.

With reports across the globe of monkeypox, coronavirus, polio, ebola and now the Marburg virus, health experts have warned of a “next pandemic”, with some predicting that ‘Disease X’ could strike the world very soon.


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Written by

Matthew Roscoe

Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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