Nine people have died in Equatorial Guinea after testing positive for Marburg virus, one of the world’s most deadly diseases.
The Marburg virus, which is similar to Ebola has a mortality rate of up to 88%, causing those who are infected with it to bleed to death.
Anyone with symptoms is being forced to self-isolate to help contain the deadly outbreak which has already infected sixteen people, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Marburg virus, which is similar to Ebola has a mortality rate of up to 88%, causing those who are infected with it to bleed to death.
Anyone with symptoms is being forced to self-isolate to help contain the deadly outbreak which has already infected sixteen people, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Health authorities are scrambling to contain the virus, as the country has quarantined more than 200 people and restricted movement, Health Minister Mitoha Ondo’o Ayekaba said.
Two neighbouring countries, Cameroon and Gabon, have also restricted movement along their borders.
Local health officials initially raised the alarm on February 7, after a mystery illness causing haemorrhagic fever killed several people in Kie Ntem.
Preliminary investigations revealed Marburg virus was responsible.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said: “Marburg is highly infectious. Thanks to the rapid and decisive action by the Equatorial Guinean authorities in confirming the disease, emergency response can get to full steam quickly so that we save lives and halt the virus as soon as possible.”
Many who catch the disease develop severe internal bleeding within a week, with blood from the nose, gums, vagina and in vomit and faeces, and die not long after.
The virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats, and it can spread between humans through direct contact with bodily fluids, surfaces and materials, the WHO said.
