There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat Marburg but potential treatments, including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies, as well as early candidate vaccines, are being evaluated, the WHO says. Photo / Supplied
There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat Marburg but potential treatments, including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies, as well as early candidate vaccines, are being evaluated, the WHO says. Photo / Supplied
The World Health Organisation says Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first outbreak of Marburg disease, saying the Ebola-related virus is responsible for at least nine deaths in the tiny Western Africa country.
In a statement, the UN health agency confirmed the epidemic after samples from Equatorial Guinea were sent toa lab in Senegal to pinpoint the cause of the disease after an alert from a local health official last week.
The #Marburg virus vaccine consortium (MARVAC) is meeting today to discuss the new Marburg virus disease outbreak in #EquatorialGuinea.
They will review available candidate vaccines and their development status.
The WHO said there were nine deaths and 16 suspected cases with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, diarrhoea, and vomiting. The agency said it was sending medical experts to help officials in Equatorial Guinea stop the outbreak and was also sending protective equipment for hundreds of workers.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in bats and spreads between people via close contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, or surfaces such as contaminated bed sheets. Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88 per cent of people.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in bats and spreads between people via close contact with the bodily fluids of infected people. Photo / AP
The rare virus was first identified in 1967 after it caused simultaneous outbreaks of disease in laboratories in Marburg, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia. Seven people died who were exposed to the virus while conducting research on monkeys.
There are no authorised vaccines or drugs to treat Marburg, but rehydration treatment to alleviate symptoms can improve the chances of survival.
In a 2004 outbreak in Angola, Marburg killed 90 per cent of 252 people infected. Last year, there were two reported Marburg deaths in Ghana.
