NewsDesk @bactiman63

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today the the country of Ghana reported the preliminary finding of two cases of Marburg virus disease and if confirmed these would the first such infections recorded in the country.

Marburg virus/Frederick Murphy

Preliminary analysis of samples taken from two patients by the country’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research indicated the cases were positive for Marburg. However, per the standard procedure, the samples have been sent to the Institut Pasteur in Senegal, a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for confirmation. The two patients from the southern Ashanti region – both deceased and unrelated – showed symptoms including diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting. They had been taken to a district hospital in Ashanti region.

Preparations for a possible outbreak response are being set up swiftly as further investigations are underway.

If confirmed, the cases in Ghana would mark the second time Marburg has been detected in West Africa. Guinea confirmed a single case in an outbreak that was declared over on 16 September 2021, five weeks after the initial case was detected.

Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases of Marburg in Africa have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.