Afrigather Brazzaville/Malabo – The outbreak of Marburg Virus Illness in Equatorial Guinea ended in the present day with no new instances reported over the previous 42 days after the final affected person was discharged from therapy.
The outbreak, which was declared on 13 February, was the primary of its type in Equatorial Guinea. A complete of 17 laboratory-confirmed instances and 12 deaths have been recorded. All of the 23 possible instances reported died. 4 sufferers recovered from the virus and have been enrolled in a survivors programme to obtain psychosocial and different post-recovery help.
5 districts in 4 of Equatorial Guinea’s eight provinces have been affected. Bata district within the western Litoral province was worst-hit, with 11 laboratory-confirmed instances reported. Among the many reported instances, many have been intently linked both by means of social gatherings and networks, or geographically.
“Whereas outbreak-prone ailments proceed to pose a significant well being risk in Africa, we are able to financial institution on the area’s rising experience in well being emergency response to behave rapidly and decisively to safeguard well being and avert widespread lack of life,” mentioned Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Well being Group (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.
“The laborious work by Equatorial Guinea’s well being employees and help by associate organizations has been essential in ending this outbreak. WHO continues to work with international locations to enhance measures to detect and reply successfully to illness outbreaks,” Dr Moeti mentioned.
To help Equatorial Guinea’s response to the just-ended outbreak, WHO deployed specialists in epidemiology, medical administration, well being operations, logistics, threat communications and an infection prevention and management. The Group labored with the well being authorities to arrange a therapy centre, offered medical provides together with antivirals and educated well being employees in the important thing elements of outbreak management. WHO additionally supported the efforts by the authorities in neighbouring Cameroon and Gabon to ramp up outbreak readiness and response.
Though the outbreak has ended, WHO is continues to work with Equatorial Guinea to take care of measures reminiscent of surveillance and testing to allow immediate motion ought to flare-ups of the virus happen, with the coaching offered throughout the outbreak serving to to strengthen readiness capability.
Marburg is in the identical household because the virus that causes Ebola Virus Illness. The Marburg virus is transmitted to folks from fruit bats and spreads amongst people by means of direct contact with the bodily fluids of contaminated folks, surfaces and supplies.
In Africa, the primary outbreak of Marburg was recorded in South Africa in 1975, adopted by two others in Kenya within the Nineteen Eighties. Since then outbreaks have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Guinea and Uganda, and most not too long ago Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.
