The new interim assessment of the Marburg virus outbreak that has been raging for more than three months in Equatorial Guinea has risen to 12, a new assessment from the Health Ministry confirmed to AFP on Monday. The last death recorded by authorities was due to an epidemic of this virus, which is related to Ebola and was close to death on April 11. As of April 21, “there have been 17 cases of illness and 12 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic,” the Ministry of Health said in a report presenting epidemiological data on the viral disease. withdraw Marburg.
A total of 116 contacts are being tracked, compared with 385 cases on April 11, and 1,427 people who have been in contact with the cases since the start of the epidemic, the source said. Dengue fever cases have spread from the eastern province of Kié-Ntem, where the first known deaths occurred on January 7, to Bata, the economic capital of the small Central African nation.
This is where the majority of confirmed positive cases (11 out of 17) are concentrated, according to authorities. Nearly a month ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) called on Equatorial Guinea to report cases of Marburg virus due to fears of a more widespread infection than previously reported.
The UN agency has warned of a potential “large-scale epidemic” that could affect neighboring Gabon and Cameroon. The Marburg virus is transmitted by fruit bats to humans and spreads to humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or with surfaces and materials. Mortality rates can be as high as 88%. There is no approved vaccine or antiviral medication to treat the virus. However, supportive care – oral or intravenous rehydration – and treatment of specific symptoms will increase the chances of survival.
