Health officials are racing to eradicate an outbreak of the rare and concerningly deadly Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The outbreak, first confirmed on Monday, is the country’s first from Marburg. This virus is a close relative of Ebola and has similar transmission (via direct contact and bodily fluids), symptoms of hemorrhagic disease, and a surprisingly high fatality rate.
So far, there have been nine deaths linked to the outbreak dating back to January. One of his deaths has been confirmed to be from Marburg, and his eight others are considered suspicious. They appear to be on the same route of transmission, but officials were unable to obtain samples to confirm infection.
There are now 16 suspected cases with mild symptoms and 21 contacts under surveillance.
Already, the outbreak is heading into dangerous territory. Outbreaks of Marburg disease are thought to be caused when the virus is transmitted to humans from animals such as fruit bats. But outbreaks have been relatively rare since the virus was first recognized in 1967, with only about 15 cases, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracking. increase. There have been four outbreaks in the last decade (two in Ghana, Guinea and Uganda), each with fewer than five confirmed cases and the highest number of deaths at just three.
concern
Without a vaccine or targeted antivirals, the outbreak in Marburg was brought under control using standard containment measures (quarantine, contact tracing, etc.) before it reached dangerous levels. . But when things get out of hand, the consequences are devastating. An outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo associated with young miners in the northeast of the country expanded from 1998 to 2000, causing 154 cases and 128 deaths (case fatality rate 83%). . He also had 252 cases and 227 deaths in an outbreak in Angola in 2004-2005 (case fatality rate 90%).
Health authorities are now trying to prevent a repeat of such a scenario in Equatorial Guinea, where cases are already in double digits. Adding to the risk is the fact that the cases are in the northeastern corner of Kiye Ntem province, which borders both Cameroon and Gabon, raising concerns of an outbreak in multiple countries.
On Tuesday, Cameroonian authorities announced they had found two suspected cases of Marburg disease in Oramze, a commune on the border with Equatorial Guinea, on Monday, Reuters reported. Authorities reported he identified 42 contacts in two cases. Her two 16-year-old teenagers had no travel history to the affected areas of Equatorial Guinea.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference on Wednesday, “So far, no confirmed cases have been reported in Cameroon or Gabon.” are investigating the country’s alerts.”
