The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday that the Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea, which lasted for nearly four months, has come to an end. This disease, a relative of Ebola, caused 35 confirmed or suspected deaths.
According to a statement from the WHO, "The outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease in Equatorial Guinea ended today with no new cases reported over the past 42 days after the last patient was discharged from treatment."
Marburg virus is a highly contagious pathogen that leads to severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure. It belongs to the filovirus family, which also includes Ebola hemorrhagic fever responsible for several deadly epidemics in western and central Africa.
The outbreak was declared on February 13 and marked the first occurrence of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, a small coastal state in central-western Africa. The WHO reported a total of 17 laboratory-confirmed cases and 12 deaths, with all 23 probable cases resulting in fatalities. However, four patients have successfully recovered from the virus and are now participating in a survivor support program that provides psychosocial and post-recovery assistance.
The WHO expressed its appreciation for the efforts of local healthcare workers and partner organizations in combating the outbreak, which involved tracing and isolating individuals who had contact with infected patients.
Coinciding with the Equatorial Guinea outbreak was another episode in Tanzania, on the opposite side of the continent. This two-month-long outbreak resulted in six fatalities and was officially declared over on June 2.
Marburg virus first appeared in Africa in 1975 during an outbreak in South Africa. Since then, outbreaks or isolated cases have been reported in Kenya, Angola, Ghana, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and this year in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.
The African fruit bat is believed to be the natural host of the virus, carrying it without experiencing illness. Fatality rates in confirmed cases have varied from 24 to 88 percent in previous outbreaks, depending on the strain of the virus and the quality of case management, according to the WHO.
Currently, there are no vaccines or antiviral treatments available for Marburg virus. However, potential treatments such as blood products, immune therapies, drug therapies, and early candidate vaccines are under evaluation.
The virus obtained its name from the German city of Marburg, where it was first identified in 1967. The outbreak occurred in a laboratory where workers had been exposed to infected green monkeys imported from Uganda.