Since the start of the epidemic, 13 cases of Marburg disease have been confirmed in Equatorial Guinea, according to its health officials, who made the announcement on Wednesday after the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged the government of the Central African nation to formally report any new cases.
The WHO describes Marburg virus disease as a viral hemorrhagic fever with a fatality rate that can reach 88%.
Fever, exhaustion, and vomit and diarrhea stained with blood are symptoms. There are no licensed vaccinations or antiviral medications to treat it. Marburg, which belongs to the same viral family as the fatal Ebola disease, is spread to humans by fruit bats.
According to a tweet from Equatorial Guinea’s health ministry, since the outbreak began, nine people have died and one patient has recovered. 825 contacts have also been identified.
WHO stated last week that there were 9 laboratory-confirmed cases, putting the total number of deaths and probable cases at 20 each. The WHO said that the government officially declared its first-ever epidemic of the disease in February.
The WHO’s director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated earlier on Wednesday that the organization was aware of new instances and had requested that the government formally disclose them to the organization.
According to the WHO, there is also a Marburg virus outbreak in Tanzania, where eight cases, including five fatalities, have been documented in the northwest Kagera district.
In order to set up trials in the impacted nations, WHO stated that it was collaborating with local authorities and vaccine producers.
