Guinea reports the first ever case of a fatal illness, WHO says

On August 6, the Ministry of Health of Guinea notified the World Health Organization of the first confirmed case of the deadly Marburg virus. WHO news release.

The infected lived in a village in Guéckédou, Nzerékoré, in southwestern Guinea. The location of the village is near the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia.

This is the first known case of the Marburg disease virus in Guinea and West Africa, WHO said.

The Marburg virus, also commonly known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever (Marburg HF), is a rare disease that can infect both humans and non-human primates. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

File-Colored transmission electron micrograph of Marburg virus particles (blue) taken from the supernatant of infected VEROE6 cells. (IMAGE POINT FR / NIH / NIAID / BSIP / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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The first infected people in 1967 were exposed to imported African savanna monkeys or their organizations during their research.

The Marburg virus belongs to the same family as Ebola, and previous outbreaks occurred throughout Africa in Angola, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda.

According to the CDC, Marburg can spread through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person or by contact with equipment or other objects contaminated with infectious blood or tissues.

The incubation period in Marburg is 5-10 days. Infected individuals experience the sudden onset of symptoms such as fever, chills, headaches, and muscle aches.

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As the disease progresses, the symptoms become more severe. Infected individuals develop a patchy papular rash around the 5th day of the incubation period. According to the CDC, the rash is “most noticeable on the trunk (chest, back, stomach).”

“Nausea, vomiting, chest pain, sore throat, abdominal pain, diarrhea may occur. Symptoms become more and more severe, jaundice, pancreatic inflammation, severe weight loss, paralysis, shock, liver failure, heavy bleeding, “Multi-organ dysfunction,” continued the CDC.

According to the CDC, “the case fatality rate for Marburg hemorrhagic fever is 23-90%.”

There are no drugs or vaccines approved by Marburg, but hydration and other supportive care can increase a patient’s chances of survival.

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According to WHO, Guinea patients went to a small medical facility near the village after experiencing symptoms from July 25th to August 1st, experiencing fever, headache, malaise, abdominal pain, and gingival bleeding.

He was tested for malaria, which returned negative, medical staff gave him parenteral antibiotics to manage his symptoms, and he was sent home.

On August 2, a man died.

A warning was sent by the public health facility and WHO experts were assigned to carry out the investigation.

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WHO members were able to conduct tests and collect samples tested positive for Marburg.

According to the WHO, the Ministry of Health, WHO, CDC, ALIMA, the Red Cross, UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration are working together to prevent further spread of the disease.

“The widespread potential of the Marburg virus means we need to stop it,” said Dr. Machidi Somoetti, WHO’s Director of Africa. “We are working with health authorities to take immediate action based on Guinea’s past experience and expertise in managing Ebola, which is transmitted in a similar manner.”

“Contact tracing is underway with active case search at the healthcare facility and community level. Three families and healthcare professionals have been identified as close, high-risk contacts and their health status is monitored. I read the news release.

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According to the WHO, news of this first Marburg incident arrives more than a month after the outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, which was contained on June 19.

According to the WHO, the same team charged with containing the Ebola outbreak was diverted to support the government’s response to the Marburg outbreak.

Only one case of Marburg disease has been reported in the United States. In 2008, tourists visiting the “Python Cave” in the Malama Gumbo Forest in Queen Elizabeth Park, western Uganda, may have come into contact with fruit bat droppings. According to the CDC, the Marburg virus is lurking.

The patient was hospitalized, treated, fully recovered and discharged.

“The Ugandan Ministry of Health officially closed the cave to visitors in August 2008,” after the second incident in Marburg was reported. According to the CDC, a Dutch traveler who visited the same cave in the same year was diagnosed with the disease and died.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.