GUINEA CONFIRMS WEST AFRICA’S FIRST CASE OF THE MARBURG VIRUS.
Written by Sarah Osanyinlusi on August 10, 2021
Health officials in Guinea have confirmed West Africa’s first case of Marburg, a highly-infectious disease that’s in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the virus needed to be “stopped in its tracks”.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, from the WHO, said the virus had the potential to spread far and wide.
Marburg virus disease is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through the transmission of bodily fluids. A severe, often fatal illness causes fever and bleeding disorders. This is the first time Marburg, a highly infectious disease that causes haemorrhagic fever, has been identified in the country, and in West Africa.
Samples taken from the patient in Guinea, who has since died, were tested in the country’s laboratories, and returned a positive result for the Marburg virus.
Editor: Okechukwu Eze
