By Tosin Adesile
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced the first two cases of the Marburg virus disease, a highly infectious disease in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola.
This is coming after a preliminary finding of the cases from the Ashanti Region on July 7, 2022, by the country’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
The results were sent to the Institut Pasteur in Dakar (IPD), Senegal, with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) where they were confirmed to be the Marburg virus.
“The two patients from the southern Ashanti region – both deceased and unrelated – showed symptoms including diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting. They had been taken to a district hospital in Ashanti region,” the WHO disclosed in the preliminary report.
The GHS head, Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, noted that 98 people identified as contact cases were under quarantine, adding that “this is the first time Ghana has confirmed Marburg virus disease.”
Confirming the development, the WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said “Health authorities have responded swiftly, getting a headstart preparing for a possible outbreak.”
“This is good because, without immediate and decisive action, Marburg can easily get out of hand. WHO is on the ground supporting health authorities and now that the outbreak is declared, we are marshalling more resources for the response.”
According to WHO, “Marburg is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.”