The deadly Marburg virus, a highly contagious illness in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola, has been confirmed in Ghana’s first two cases.
Published: 18 July 2022
In the southern Ashanti area hospital, it is reported that both patients recently passed away. Their samples tested positive earlier this month, and a Senegalese laboratory has since confirmed this.
According to health officials in the country of West Africa, 98 individuals are currently in isolation due to suspected contact cases.
Although there is currently no cure for Marburg, doctors advise addressing certain symptoms and drinking lots of fluids to increase a patient’s chance of survival.
The virus enters humans through fruit bats and spreads between people through the exchange of body fluids. It is a serious illness that frequently results in death and has symptoms like headache, fever, muscle cramps, vomiting blood, and bleeding.
Government representatives are advising the public to stay away from caves and to thoroughly prepare any meat items before eating them.
According to the WHO, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda have all experienced past outbreaks and isolated cases. Seven individuals perished in the first Marburg outbreak, which occurred in Germany in 1967.
According to the international health organisation, Angola saw the bloodiest outbreak on record in 2005 when the virus claimed more than 200 lives.
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