A cousin of Ebola, the Marburg virus is rampant in Equatorial Guinea, a country first no history of hemorrhagic fever virus. The WHO called an emergency meeting on February 14.
Equatorial Guinea confirmed on February 13 the appearance of its first outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the east of the country, in the province of Kie Ntem. The World Health Organization (WHO) called an emergency meeting the next day. WHO reports that nine deaths and 16 suspected cases with symptoms including fever, fatigue, blood-stained vomiting and diarrhea have been reported so far. Only one of the eight samples tested at the Institut Pasteur tested positive for the virus.
Although different, the Marburg and Ebola viruses belong to the same filovirus family, causing severe viral hemorrhagic fever in humans. The WHO indicates that the average lethality rate of the Marburg virus is around 50%, with a variation of 24% to 88% (depending on the viral strain and the treatment of the patient). A study shows that the bat Rousettus aegypticus harbors the virus. It would be transmitted to humans by this animal, and is spread by direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.
A particular emergence
« This is the first time that an outbreak has been confirmed in Equatorial Guinea: it is therefore a real emergence, in a country a priori without a history of hemorrhagic fever viruses.noted The Conversation. The last cases of Marburg were recorded in 2021 in Guinea-Conakry and Ghana, two countries far from Equatorial Guinea. Note that the virus bears this name for historical reasons, since it was first detected in Marburg and Frankfurt (Germany) in 1967, as well as in Serbia. Since then, it has raged in several African countries.
Currently, there is no vaccine or antiviral treatment to treat the virus. Candidate vaccines with phase 1 data are being evaluated.
