Cameroon has detected two suspected cases of Marburg’s disease in Olamze, an area close to Equatorial Guinea. Previously, Equatorial Guinea announced its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, an Ebola-like illness, on December 13.
According to Archyde.com, neighboring Cameroon has restricted movement along the border to avoid infection. “On February 13, we had two suspected cases of virus Marburg. The two patients, both 16 years old, one male and one female, have never been to infected areas in Equatorial Guinea,” said the region’s public health delegate, Robert Mathurin Bidjang. with the above 2 patients have been identified.
WHO announced it is strengthening epidemiological surveillance in Equatorial Guinea. The small country in Central Africa has reported 9 deaths and 16 cases Suspected Marburg virus infectionwith symptoms including fever, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea.
“We are working on a 30-day response plan,” said George Ameh, WHO country representative for Equatorial Guinea. The country has not detected any new infections in the past 48 hours.
The Marburg virus causes highly contagious disease that can have a mortality rate of up to 88%. There is currently no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment to treat this disease.
On February 13, WHO convened an emergency meeting to evaluate several vaccine candidates that could be used during the outbreak.
Attendees discuss five vaccines against Marburg virus in animal studies. Three vaccine developers – Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Public Health Vaccines and Sabin Vaccine Institute – said they could offer vaccines for testing during the current outbreak.
According to NBC, Janssen and Sabin’s vaccine has gone through phase 1 clinical trials. Public Health Vaccines’ vaccine works against the virus in monkeys and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for testing. on body.
WHO says its next step is to convene an independent panel of experts to choose which vaccine candidate is preferred.
But some at the meeting pointed out that there may not be enough cases during this outbreak to accurately gauge the vaccine’s effectiveness.
John Edmunds, Professor of Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “If you look at history, Marburg outbreaks have been quite small and interventions have been limited. their size”.
Marburg shares the same virus family as Ebola. Both are characterized by viral hemorrhagic fevers, which cause internal bleeding and damage to multiple organ systems.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people infected with Marburg virus usually have a fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, followed by a rash, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and sore throat. , chest pain, abdominal pain.
The Marburg virus can be spread through blood, body fluids, or contaminated objects or surfaces. Previous outbreaks, mainly in Africa, have had a fatality rate of 24% to 88%, depending on the strain of the virus and the country’s ability to control transmission.