Equatorial Guinea, a country in Central Africa, declared its first-ever Marburg virus disease epidemic on Monday (February 13), when at least nine persons passed away in the province of Kie-Ntem. The World Health Organization (WHO), which had previously confirmed the outbreak, then said that it will step up epidemiological surveillance in the country of Central Africa, which had also reported roughly 16 probable cases.
What do we now know about the “outbreak”?
In Kie-Ntem province of Equatorial Guinea, more than 200 people have been placed under quarantine as a result of the Marburg virus outbreak, which the WHO describes as a fatal and highly contagious disease akin to Ebola. People in the Central African country have reportedly experienced symptoms like fever, exhaustion, and blood-stained clothing.
The health organisation stated in a statement that “Additional investigations are ongoing. In the concerned districts, advance teams have been sent in to track down contacts, isolate, and treat anyone exhibiting symptoms of the disease.
The Central African country announced last week that only three people had displayed any “light symptoms” in the suspected cases of hemorrhagic fever in the remote eastern region bordering Gabon and Cameroon. Days later, though, the neighbouring Mongomo district and Kie-Ntem province were under a “health alert,” according to Mitoha Ondo’o Ayekaba, the health minister for Equatorial Guinea.
In addition, the health minister added that the WHO and UN were consulted before the “lockdown strategy launched.” According to George Ameh, the health agency’s representative in Equatorial Guinea, “surveillance in the field has been strengthened.” “Contact tracing is a cornerstone of the response, as you know,” he continued. We rapidly refitted the COVID-19 teams that were there for contact tracing and redeployed them so that they could help us out a lot.
The WHO official in Equatorial Guinea stated that they are currently working on a 30-day response plan where they would be able to quantify and evaluate the precise measures and demands. The WHO states that local health officials initially reported cases of an unidentified illness producing hemorrhagic fever, and it wasn’t until the samples were transported to Senegal that it was possible to establish at least one positive case of the Marburg virus disease there.
Suspected cases detected in Cameroon
Tuesday saw two probable instances of Marburg sickness reported from the neighbouring Cameroon, which had previously limited travel along its borders due to the virus (February 15). According to Robert Mathurin Bidjang, a representative for the local public health department, the area where it was discovered, Olamze, is a commune on the border with Equatorial Guinea.
The two suspected Marburg disease cases discovered on February 13 and the 16-year-old children, a boy and a girl, “had no prior travel history to the impacted areas in Equatorial Guinea,” according to Bidjang, who was speaking at a meeting in the nation’s capital Yaounde. According to Reuters, he also said that 42 people who had contact with the children had since been identified as they kept in touch with tracing.
What is Marburg disease?
The WHO states that the Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a very virulent illness that belongs to the same virus family as Ebola. After several and concurrent disease outbreaks in laboratories in the German towns of Marburg and Frankfurt as well as the Serbian capital Belgrade, the uncommon virus was first discovered in 1967. At least seven persons who were reportedly performing research on monkeys passed away after contracting the illness. Later, the disease was also linked to African green monkeys from Uganda, although the African fruit bat is the true natural host of the Marburg virus.
How serious is it?
According to the WHO, the disease has a death rate of up to 88%. The fatality rates for the virus can be reduced to at least 24%, depending on the strain and how symptoms are treated. The Marburg virus belongs to the same family of viruses as Ebola, which has caused thousands of deaths throughout the African continent over the years. In the past, there was an outbreak of the Marburg virus in Angola, where 90% of the little more than 250 afflicted persons died. Just last year, the illness also caused two deaths in Ghana.
What signs and symptoms exist with Marburg disease?
The sickness is abrupt and characterised by fever, chills, headaches, and muscle discomfort, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States. The affected person may also have chest pain, a sore throat, gastrointestinal pain, and diarrhoea around the fifth day. According to the WHO, many individuals also experience severe hemorrhagic symptoms between 5 and 7 days. According to reports, the virus also affects a number of organs at once, impairing bodily function and possibly leading to bewilderment in the victim.
