Marburg virus: Ghana confirms two cases of highly infectious disease

Total of 98 people now under quarantine as suspected contact cases

There have been a dozen major Marburg outbreaks since 1967 (CDC/Dr Erskine Palmer, Russell Regnery, PhD)

Ghana has confirmed two cases of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease similar to Ebola, the country’s health service said on Sunday.

The two people tested positive for the virus, before later dying, but the results have now been verified by a laboratory in Senegal, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

A total of 98 people are now under quarantine as suspected contact cases, Ghanaian health officials said.

It is only the second outbreak of Marburg in west Africa. The first ever case of the virus in the region was detected last year in Guinea, with no further cases identified.

“Health authorities have responded swiftly, getting a head start preparing for a possible outbreak. This is good because without immediate and decisive action, Marburg can easily get out of hand,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.

The two patients in southern Ghana's Ashanti region both had symptoms including diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting, before dying in hospital, the WHO said.

There have been a dozen major Marburg outbreaks since 1967, mostly in southern and eastern Africa. Fatality rates have varied from 24 per cent to 88 per cent in past outbreaks, depending on the virus strain and case management, according to the WHO.

The virus killed more than 200 people in Angola in 2005, in the deadliest outbreak on record.

It is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials, the WHO said.