The first suspected Marburg virus disease cases have been reported in Ghana.
It is a highly contagious viral hemorrhagic fever that is related to Ebola and has a death rate of up to 88 percent.
The two patients displayed diarrhoea, fever, nausea, and vomiting as symptoms. After being transported to a district hospital in the Ashanti area, the patients passed away from the illness.
The nation’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research performed a preliminary examination on the samples collected from them, which revealed the presence of the Marburg virus.
They are currently undergoing routine testing for further confirmation at the Institut Pasteur in Senegal, a facility that collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO).
This would be the second time the illness has been found in Western Africa if the samples are found to have the Marburg virus by the international health organization.
Prior to this, on September 16, 2021, Guinea reported a case that was eventually identified as the virus five weeks later. Earlier in intermittent outbreaks, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda all reported cases.
“The health authorities are investigating the situation on the ground and preparing for a possible outbreak response. We are working closely with the country to ramp up detection, track contacts, and be ready to control the spread of the virus,” Dr Francis Kasolo, a WHO representative in Ghana, said.
Treatments for the Disease
Treatments for this illness include pharmacological therapy, immunological therapies, and blood products. Monoclonal antibody therapies for the Ebola virus, Remdesivir and Favipiravir, are also being explored for wider access or compassionate use.
There are no particular antiviral medications or vaccinations to treat the illness. Clinical investigations have not yet proved that the Ebola vaccination can prevent infection with the Marburg virus.
However, rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids and tailored symptom therapy dramatically increase the likelihood of survival.
Origin of the Marburg Virus
Following two significant outbreaks, the illness was initially discovered in 1967 in Germany’s Marburg and Frankfurt as well as Serbia’s Belgrade. The illness was linked to laboratory research utilizing imported from Uganda African green monkeys.
The main disease carriers are fruit bats in the Pteropodidae family. It usually spreads to people after extended exposure to mines or caves where Rousettus bat colonies have colonies.
Direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other body fluids of infected persons results in human-to-human transmission. Other important sources are materials and surfaces that have been exposed to these fluids. It might take two days to three weeks for it to begin to develop.
The fruit bats’ native habitat includes areas of India, Africa, the Middle East, South-East Asian nations, and Australia.
What Could This Mean for Ghanaians?
Ghana is yet to fully recover from the destruction that was left by COVID-19 on its economy. The news of another virus with an 88% death rate hitting the shores of the country could mean nothing good. Where could these viral diseases be coming from? Is it a blowback of decades of pollution? Could it be that these diseases are made in labs and then spread? We may never know, but what we know is this: Ghana could suffer another blow if the management of this deadly virus is not done properly, especially at a time when the country is on its knees economically.
We could see another lockdown and a plummet in physical business activities as well as education. If this happens, the way to continue making progress although slowly will be to climb into the arms of technology to shield ourselves from a complete shutdown.
Remote learning strategies will have to be revamped if any significant educational strides are to be made, and business people will also stand a better chance (if proactive) at sustaining their businesses as they may apply lessons learnt from COVID.