It was announced that 2 people died from the “Marburg fever” epidemic in the south of the West African country of Ghana. In the statement made by the World Health Organization (WHO), it was reported that 2 people died in the Ashanti region of the country from an epidemic similar to Ebola.
It was stated in the statement that the Marburg fever tests made to these people were positive, and that these results were sent to a laboratory in Senegal to confirm the cases.
MARBURG FEVER SYMPTOMS
Symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting were noted in the cases.
Marburg fever, which was first seen in West Africa in August 2021, was detected in the Gueckedou region in the south of Guinea, which was also the starting point of the Ebola epidemic seen in 2014-2016 and 2021.
DEATH RATE CAN INCREASED UP TO 90 PERCENT
Marburg virus, which is stated to be a close relative of Ebola, was first detected in a laboratory in Marburg, Germany in 1967.
Marburg fever, which is transmitted through fruit bats, is also spread among humans through bodily fluids or contact of infected persons.
In infected people, effects such as high fever, severe headache, weakness, and vomiting occur suddenly, and severe hemorrhagic symptoms develop in many patients within 7 days.
Mortality rate in Marburg fever, which does not have a vaccine or a specific treatment, can vary between 23 percent and 90 percent.
SO FAR, 12 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DETECTED
Since 1967, when the virus was first detected, 12 Marburg cases have been seen in South and East Africa and Europe.
In the Marburg fever epidemic in Angola in 2005, 90 percent of 252 people who contracted the disease died.
Although the virus was found in a bat in the West African country of Sierra Leone in 2018, no cases were recorded among humans.