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Equatorial Guinea: Marburg virus epidemic officially declare over – WHO

The United Nations health agency announced an end to a nearly four-month outbreak of the Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea on Thursday, saying the disease, a relative of Ebola, has caused 35 deaths confirmed or suspected.

“The Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea ended today with no new cases reported in the past 42 days after the last patient was discharged from the hospital after treatment,” the statement said. of the World Health Organization (WHO) in a statement.

Highly virulent bacteria cause high fever, often with bleeding and organ failure. It is part of the so-called filovirus family that includes Ebola hemorrhagic fever, which has caused several deadly epidemics in West and Central Africa.

The outbreak, declared on February 13, is the first in Equatorial Guinea declared outbreak on February 13, the first in the small coastal country in west-central Africa. “Laboratory-confirmed cases of 17 and 12 deaths have been recorded. All 23 potentially reported cases have died,” the WHO said.

He added: “Four patients have recovered from the virus and are enrolled in a survivor program to receive psychosocial and other support after recovery.

The statement expressed gratitude to local health workers and the support of partner organizations for the “hard work” in combating the outbreak, which has largely involved tracing and Isolate those who come into contact with the patient.

The epidemic in Tanzania

The epidemic in Equatorial Guinea coincided with the epidemic on the other side of the continent, in Tanzania. Six people died in the two-month stretch, which was officially declared to end on June 2. The first Marburg outbreak in Africa was recorded in South Africa in 1975.

Outbreaks or sporadic cases have also been reported in Kenya, Angola, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, as well as Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania this year.

The presumed natural source of the virus is the African fruit bat, which carries the disease but does not get sick.
According to WHO, mortality rates for confirmed cases have ranged from 24% to 88% in previous outbreaks, depending on the strain of the virus and how the case is managed.

There is currently no vaccine or antiviral treatment, but potential treatments, including blood products, immunotherapy, and drug therapy, as well as vaccines, are available. – Apply for initial candidates, being evaluated.

The virus takes its name from the German town of Marburg, where it was first identified in 1967, in a laboratory where workers were exposed to infected green monkeys imported from Uganda.

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