Ghana reports on what may be the country’s first cases of the Marburg virus, reports World Health Organization (WHO).
In a statement dated July 7, the WHO writes that Ghana currently suspects two cases of the viral disease.
Analyzes taken by two patients, indicating marburg virus, have now been forwarded to the WHO’s collaboration center in Senegal for confirmation.
The virus is highly contagious and has according to Norwegian Health Informatics (NHI) a mortality rate of up to 90 percent.
It is believed that the virus originates from bats.
– The National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) is monitoring the situation, senior researcher Tone Johansen informs Dagbladet.
– Marburg virus can lead to hemorrhagic bleeding fever, similar to what is seen in Ebola, says Johansen at FHI.
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is assessing on an ongoing basis
The course of the disease starts abruptly with high fever, severe headache and discomfort. Many patients develop severe bleeding within seven days, writes WHO.
The death virus no one knows how to cure
– Even if there are more cases in Ghana, there will be a small risk of cases in Europe or in Norway, Johansen emphasizes.
Ingeborg Marie Gloppen Johnsen, communications adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), tells Dagbladet that one should follow the government’s travel advice and travel information.
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continuously assesses the need to create, change or revoke travel advice, after an overall assessment of the situation for Norwegian travelers, she tells Dagbladet.
MOST DEADLY: In 2005, Angola was hit by the Marburg virus. The outbreak is described as the deadliest ever and most of the dead were children under the age of five. Here is Professor Adriano Duse next to a dead person with the viral disease. Photo: AP
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Works with infection tracking
Marburg virus was first described in 1967 after two simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg in Germany and in Belgrade in Serbia (then Yugoslavia).
37 people were infected after contact with infected test monkeys imported from Africa, of which nine died.
– The health authorities are on site and investigating the situation. They are preparing for a possible outbreak. We work closely with the country to detect the infection and be able to control the spread of the virus, says Francis Kasolo, representative of the WHO in Ghana.
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If the two cases are confirmed, this will be the second time the marburg virus has been detected in West Africa.
Comes from bats
Tone Johansen in FHI tells Dagbladet that the viral disease is a zoonosis – ie a disease that is transmitted from animals to humans – but which can also be transmitted from human to human.
– The reservoir for the virus is believed to be bats, or rather fruit bats. Monkeys probably play a role in infection transmission, but are not the natural reservoir for viruses, Johansen explains.
MARBURG VIRUS: A person with a virus infection is transported on a stretcher. The photo from Angola was taken on March 27, 2005. Photo: Reuters
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– There is currently no vaccine for this disease, or specific antiviral treatment. However, supportive care can increase survival.
According to the WHO, a single case was confirmed in Guinea in 2021.
Previous outbreaks and cases of marburg virus in Africa have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.
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