Marburg virus: Fears of new outbreak after 2 people die of Ebola-like disease

Marburg virus is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and is spread among humans via bodily fluids and contact with materials such as bedding and clothing

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Marburg: WHO discusses virus in 2021

Two people have been killed by a highly contagious virus similar to Ebola in Ghana.

Health chiefs said a lab had returned positive results for Marburg virus from two men, aged 26 and 51, who died last month.

Marburg is a highly contagious viral hemorrhagic fever that resembles the more well-known Ebola virus, but with a much higher mortality rate at 88% lethal.

This is the first time the virus has been detected in Ghana and only the second outbreak in West Africa.

Both patients had symptoms such as diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting and were identified in the Ashanti region of southern Ghana, but only after they died.

Dr Tom Fletcher, an infectious disease consultant at Royal Liverpool University Hospital, told the Telegraph that delayed diagnosis often means healthcare workers have been exposed and there could be other cases not detected.

“Marburg can easily spiral out of control,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.

Marburg is a highly contagious viral hemorrhagic fever that resembles the better known Ebola (

Picture:

AFP via Getty Images)

Over 90 contacts, including health workers and community members, of the two deceased have been identified and are being closely monitored.

The virus is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and is spread among humans via bodily fluids and contact with materials such as bedding and clothing.

According to the WHO, "severe watery diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps, nausea and vomiting may begin on day three", followed by "severe bleeding manifestations" between days five and seven which may include bleeding from the nose, gums and vagina.