02/04/2023
Here we go again ??
Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea are battling outbreaks of this Ebola-like disease
Equatorial Guinea, in East Africa, announced last week the Ebola-like disease had spread from rural areas of the country to the commercial capital Bata. So far it has confirmed at least 13 cases, while in Tanzania, in the west of the continent, at least five people have died among eight cases.
Tanzania's health authorities said the outbreak has been contained and Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa, said efforts by the country to establish the cause of the disease showed "the determination to effectively respond to the outbreak”
“We are working with the government to rapidly scale up control measures to halt the spread of the virus and end the outbreak as soon as possible,” said Dr Moeti.
The WHO is working with both countries to tackle the outbreaks by providing expert assistance, deploying health emergency experts and supplying vital materials.
Marburg originated in fruit bats and can spread in humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people.
It has a death rate of 88 per cent and there is no vaccine or antiviral treatment.
The WHO has advised that supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms improves the chances of someone surviving the disease.
Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly and symptoms include severe headache, fatigue and nausea before haemorrhagic symptoms begin within seven days.
According to the WHO, Marburg was first detected in 1967 after simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Belgrade, Serbia.
Outbreaks and cases have since been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa (in a person with recent travel history to Zimbabwe) and Uganda.
