Marburg virus kills 9 in Equatorial Guinea
Sawako Utsumi and Sawako Uchida
Modern Tokyo Times
The highly infectious Marburg virus hit Equatorial Guinea for the first time. Alarmingly, the fatality rate of Marburg is up to 88%.
Nine people have died from Marburg since the first-ever outbreak in Equatorial Guinea. Another 16 individuals are also suspected to have caught this deadly virus.
Voice of America reports, “The Marburg virus has a fatality rate of up to 88% and spreads from person to person through direct contact with bodily fluids, WHO said. The disease comes from the same family of viruses as Ebola. Symptoms consist of high fever and severe headache, with many patients developing hemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.”
The areas of concern in Equatorial Guinea are the province of Kie-Ntem and the environs of Mongomo.
The World Health Organization reports, “There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat the virus. However, supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival. A range of potential treatments, including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies, as well as candidate vaccines with phase 1 data are being evaluated.”
Health Minister Mitoha Ondo’o Ayekaba linked the deaths – preliminarily – to a funeral that took place in the district of Nsok Nsomo (Kie-Ntem province).
Hopefully, prompt action by Equatorial Guinea will entail that many lives are saved.
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