The exceedingly lethal Marburg virus is suspected to have killed two people in Ghana as officials prepare for a future epidemic.
Patients from the southern Ashanti region of the country did not know each other, indicating that the sickness is spreading.
Initial tests were positive for the virus, and the World Health Organization is reanalyzing the samples (WHO).
If verified, this would be only the second time Marburg has been found in West Africa, following a tiny epidemic in Guinea the previous year.
The WHO is sending experts to Ghana to assist health officials and locate victims’ close contacts.
Marburg, a dangerous relative of Ebola, kills between 25 and 90 percent of affected individuals.
The extremely infectious pathogen has been identified as the next major pandemic threat, with the World Health Organization identifying it as “epidemic-prone.
Patients infected with the disease frequently acquire deep-set eyes and expressionless faces, giving them a ‘ghost-like’ appearance. Typically, this is followed by bleeding from several orifices, such as the nose, gums, eyes, and vagina.
The WHO official in Ghana, Dr. Francis Kasolo, stated, “The health authorities are studying the issue and preparing for a possible outbreak response.”
We are collaborating closely with the government to increase detection, track contacts, and be prepared to contain the virus’s spread.
Two Ghanaian patients reportedly complained of diarrhea, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Their age and gender remain unknown.
The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research confirmed the presence of the Marburg virus in samples taken from two individuals.
They have been transferred to the WHO-collaborating Institut Pasteur in Senegal for confirmation. It would be the first case of Marburg in Ghana.
Typically, outbreaks of the virus are observed in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda.
The World Health Organization is dispatching specialists to assist Ghana’s health officials with illness surveillance, testing, and contact tracing.
In addition to working with communities to warn and educate people about the disease’s hazards, officials will collaborate with emergency response teams.
Marburg is a viral hemorrhagic fever belonging to the same family as the better-known Ebola virus.
The virus is transmitted between humans by blood and body fluids, as well as by contacting contaminated surfaces.
To contain the virus, extremely severe infection control procedures are required.
It was originally identified in humans in 1967, following epidemics in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia, where it was transmitted to lab employees by Ugandan monkeys.
In 2008, the disease was identified again in a Dutch woman who had visited caverns in Uganda before returning to the Netherlands.
The onset of a disease is sudden, accompanied by a high fever and a terrible headache, and frequently results in serious bleeding within a week.
There are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments for the virus, so physicians must rely on intravenous infusions to alleviate symptoms.
Blood products, immunological therapies, and pharmacological therapies are among the potential treatments that are still being explored.
What is the Marburg virus?
The Marburg virus causes a severe and lethal hemorrhagic fever that frequently results in death.
The initial symptoms consist of a severe headache, a high fever, diarrhea, stomach discomfort, and vomiting, which worsen with time.
In its early stages, the sickness is extremely difficult to differentiate from other tropical fever-causing infections, such as Ebola and malaria.
After five days, many patients begin to bleed beneath the skin, from internal organs, or through body orifices including the mouth, eyes, and ears.
The condition is currently incurable, thus patients are watched and treated with fluids.
Currently, studies are evaluating antibody therapies and antivirals, but according to WHO, these can only be administered as part of the trials.
According to estimations from the World Health Organization, patients then succumb to nervous system breakdown at a fatality rate of 50%.
In previous epidemics of Marburg, mortality rates ranged from 24% to 88% of people afflicted.
It is initially transmitted to humans through exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bats, and then through direct contact with infected individuals’ bodily fluids or surfaces and objects contaminated with these fluids.
