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The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has ordered all of its regional offices to be on alert for the Marburg virus.
It comes after an outbreak of the disease has been recorded in neighboring West Africa, Guinea, and has already claimed one death in the country.
Marburg virus is a hemorrhagic fever virus of the Filoviridae family of viruses and a member of the species, genus Marburgvirus.
Health experts say the Marburg virus belongs to the same family as Ebola and the virus is considered highly infectious.
But the Ghana Health Service said it had tasked all health facilities in the country to initiate preparedness and response plans for the virus.
“We have had confirmation from the WHO that they have indeed detected Marburg in Guinea. Let me say that Marburg is not common in West Africa, but this is actually the first time we have had Marburg in West Africa. If you look at the location of the case, that means we need to increase our awareness and our preparedness. So we sent a communication to all regions to be on high alert, ”said GHS Director of Public Health Dr Franklin Aseidu-Bekoe.
He added that: “What it is is that we are in a COVID-19 pandemic, so if we are not careful all our minds will be turned in this direction. The idea is that they should not always be looking at COVID-19, but also broaden their reach, raise awareness and activate the system in the event of Marburg’s case. ”
Marburg virus disease is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and is spread between humans through the transmission of bodily fluids.
It is a serious, often fatal illness with symptoms such as headache, fever, muscle pain, vomiting blood and bleeding.
The very first Marburg epidemic occurred in Germany in 1967, where seven people died.
In Africa, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Cases are extremely rare, with the last major outbreak in Angola in 2005.
The virus killed more than 200 people in Angola in 2005, the deadliest epidemic on record, according to the world health body.
Preventive measures include:
- Avoid contact with body fluids (such as urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, and semen) of people with symptoms.
- Practice hand hygiene: wash your hands frequently with soap under running water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Do not handle objects that have often come in contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
- Avoid contact with dead bodies, including participating in funeral or burial rituals of suspected or confirmed Marburg cases.
- Seek immediate medical attention (the nearest health facility) if you develop fever (body temperature 38 ° C or above) or other symptoms such as severe headache, fatigue (eg. feeling very tired), muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain or unexplained bleeding or bruising.
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