The WHO reported Equatorial Guinea's first Marburg virus outbreak. The small western African country has had nine deaths and 16 probable cases from an Ebola-related illness.
The first-ever case of Marburg virus sickness has been verified in Equatorial Guinea. Following the deaths of at least nine people in the western Kie Ntem Province, early tests confirmed the presence of viral haemorrhagic fever.
In response to an alert from a district health official on 7 February, the Equatorial Guinean Ministry of Health submitted samples to the Institut Pasteur reference laboratory in Senegal with the help of the World Health Organization.
Only one out of eight samples analysed at Institut Pasteur was found to be virus positive. There have been nine confirmed fatalities and 16 possible cases documented thus far.
This Marburg virus is extremely contagious. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Regional Director for Africa, issued a statement praising Equatorial Guinea for its swift and decisive action in confirming the disease.
"Thanks to their efforts, emergency response can get to full steam quickly so that we can save lives and halt the virus as soon as possible," he said.
The virus is thought to infect African fruit bats naturally, but it can spread to humans and other primates by direct contact with infected fluids or surfaces.
High temperature, muscle ache, exhaustion, diarrhoea, and vomiting are all signs of this virus, which is related to the one that causes Ebola.
To reduce their chance of contracting and transmitting the virus, health professionals advise locals to stay away from mines and caves that may be inhabited by bats and to either refrain from eating or handling meat of wild animals or boil it well before consuming it.
Transmission from human to human occurs mostly through direct contact with infected individuals or infected surfaces.
Direct contact with the corpse during burial rituals is another potential vector for the spread of the virus.
In 1967, the virus was discovered after it caused outbreaks in laboratories in Marburg, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia. Seven people lost their lives because of contracting the virus while studying monkeys.
The haemorrhagic fever caused by the Marburg virus can have a mortality rate of up to 88 percent. It's related to the Ebola virus and creates a similar illness.
The virus has no vaccinations and no recognised antiviral therapies. Rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids and the treatment of specific symptoms are examples of supportive care that increase the likelihood of survival.
A preliminary clinical trial involving a small number of healthy human volunteers demonstrated the safety and immune response-inducing potential of an investigational vaccine.
More vaccine studies will be conducted in the United States, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda.
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