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Ghana has announced the first outbreak of Marburg virus disease. The Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, received samples from each of two patients from the Ashanti region in southern Ghana, both of whom died and unrelated, who had symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting. The lab corroborated results obtained by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, which suggested the patients were suffering from Marburg virus. The first case was a 26-year-old man who presented to hospital on June 26, 2022 and died on June 27. The second case was a 51-year-old man who presented to hospital on June 28 and died the same day. The two cases were treated in the same hospital a few days apart. The World Health Organization (WHO) has supported a national survey team in the Ashanti region as well as Ghana’s health authorities by deploying experts, providing personal protective equipment, strengthening surveillance disease, testing, contact tracing and working with communities to alert and educate them regarding the risks and dangers of the disease, and to collaborate with emergency response teams. In addition, a team of WHO experts will be deployed over the next few days to provide coordination, risk assessment and infection prevention measures. “Health authorities reacted quickly, getting a head start in preparing for a possible outbreak. This is a good thing because, without immediate and decisive action, the Marburg can easily spiral out of control. WHO is on the ground supporting health authorities and now that the outbreak is declared, we are mobilizing more resources for the response,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. More than 90 contacts, including health workers and community members, have been identified and are being followed up. Marburg is a highly infectious viral hemorrhagic fever in the same family as the better known Ebola virus disease. This is only the second time that this zoonosis (disease transmitted by animals to humans) has been detected in West Africa. Guinea has confirmed a single case in an outbreak that was declared over on September 16, 2021, five weeks following the initial case was detected. Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases of Marburg in Africa have been reported in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. The WHO has contacted neighboring high-risk countries, which are on high alert. Marburg is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and is spread among humans through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people, surfaces and materials.

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