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Brazzaville / Conakry, August 9, 2021 – Guinean health authorities today confirmed a case of Marburg virus disease in the south of Gueckedou prefecture. This is the first time that Marburg, a highly infectious disease that causes hemorrhagic fever, has been identified in the country, and in West Africa.
Marburg, which is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola, was detected less than two months after Guinea declared the end of an Ebola outbreak that erupted earlier this year. Samples taken from a patient who died now and tested by a field laboratory in Gueckedou as well as by the national laboratory for hemorrhagic fever in Guinea have tested positive for the Marburg virus. Further analysis by the Institut Pasteur in Senegal confirmed the result.
The patient had sought treatment at a local clinic in the Koundou region in Gueckedou, where a medical investigation team had been dispatched to investigate the worsening of his symptoms.
“We applaud the vigilance and rapid investigative action of Guinean health workers. The potential for the spread of the Marburg virus means we have to stop it dead, ”said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa. “We are working with health authorities to implement a rapid response that builds on Guinea’s past experience and expertise in dealing with Ebola, which is similarly transmitted.
Gueckedou, where Marburg has been confirmed, is also the same region where cases of the 2021 Ebola outbreak in Guinea as well as the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa were initially detected.
Efforts are underway to locate people who may have been in contact with the patient. As the disease first appears in the country, health authorities are launching public education and community mobilization to raise awareness and galvanize support to help curb the widespread infection.
An initial team of 10 WHO experts, including epidemiologists and socio-anthropologists, are on the ground to help investigate the case and help national health authorities rapidly scale up the emergency response, including the risk assessment, disease surveillance, community mobilization, testing, clinical care, infection prevention as well as logistical support.
Cross-border surveillance is also being stepped up to quickly detect any case, with neighboring countries being on alert. The Ebola control systems in place in Guinea and neighboring countries are critical to the emergency response to the Marburg virus.
Marburg is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and is spread among humans through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people, surfaces and materials.
The disease begins suddenly, with a high fever, severe headache and malaise. Many patients develop severe bleeding signs within seven days. Case fatality rates have ranged from 24% to 88% in past outbreaks depending on virus strain and case management.
Although there are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments to treat the virus, supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms improves survival. A range of potential treatments, including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies, are being evaluated.
In Africa, epidemic outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.
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Media contacts:
Collins Boakye-Agyemang
Communications Officer
WHO Regional Office for Africa
[email protected]
Phone: + 242 06 520 65 65
Meenakshi Dalal
Communication advisor
[email protected]
Phone. : +1 682 812 2306 (WhatsApp)
I’m fine
Communication manager
WHO Regional Office for Africa
[email protected]
Phone. : +242 065 081 009
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