Ghana reports two suspected Marburg virus cases

GHANA: Ghana has reported two suspected cases of Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola, authorities said on Thursday.

It came after preliminary tests done in the country on two patients, who have since died, came back positive for the virus.

The samples have been taken to the Institut Pasteur in Senegal for further tests, said Dr. Francis Kasolohe, the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s representative in Ghana.

“The two patients from the southern Ashanti region – both deceased and unrelated – showed symptoms including diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting. They had been taken to a district hospital in the Ashanti region,” he said.

If confirmed, these would be the first cases recorded in the country and the second in West Africa. Guinea confirmed one case last year.

Marburg is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads between humans through bodily fluids.

No vaccine or treatments exist and those diagnosed with Marburg are usually advised to drink plenty of water as doctors treat a patient’s specific symptoms.

Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases of Marburg in Africa have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.

– BBC