Marburg virus spreads further in Equatorial Guinea | Abroad

Cases discovered about 150 kilometers apart in Equatorial Guinea indicate a wider spread of the virus, the WHO said at a press conference in Geneva on Thursday. Seven of the nine laboratory-confirmed patients have since died. Another twenty other dead were probably also infected.

Due to the proximity of the neighboring countries of Cameroon and Gabon, the WHO speaks of a medium risk for that region and a high risk for Equatorial Guinea itself, whose 1.5 million inhabitants are among the poorest people in the world, according to the UN. Local authorities first raised the alarm on February 7 after at least eight people died in two villages in Kié-Ntem province in the northeastern part of the country.

The virus takes its name from the German city of Marburg, where it was detected in 1967. This happened after laboratory workers fell ill after contact with infected monkeys imported from Uganda. The symptoms are high fever, severe vomiting and blood in the stool. The disease is fatal in most cases. The most important thing is to isolate the patients as soon as possible and trace all people with whom they have been in contact to prevent further spread.

A few days ago, an outbreak of the Marburg virus was also discovered in the East African country of Tanzania, with five fatalities so far. A vaccine does not currently exist, but according to the WHO we are not far from it. “The developers are on board, the clinical trial protocols are ready, the experts and donors are ready as soon as the national government and researchers give the green light,” Ghebreyesus said.