Dylan Bettencourt
Ghana has recorded two cases of the Marburg virus, a deadly disease belonging to the same family as Ebola.
The government confirmed that both patients had lost their lives to the virus.
Health officials in Ghana said that around 100 people were ordered to quarantine as suspected contacts.
The World Health Organization (WHO) praised the West African nation for its swift response to the virus.
“This is good because without immediate and decisive action, Marburg can easily get out of hand,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s Africa director.
There is currently no treatment for Marburg but doctors claim that drinking lots of water and treating the symptoms increase chances of survival.
Marburg is a usually fatal virus with symptoms such as headaches, fever, muscle pains, vomiting blood and nosebleeds.
It is transmitted by fruit bats and then spread through the bodily fluids of humans.
Officials urged people to stay away from caves and to cook their meat all the way through before consuming it.
This is not the first time Marburg has been detected in West Africa. Guinea reported one case last year. Five weeks later the outbreak was declared over.
Other African countries such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda have had sporadic cases, the WHO said.
The deadliest Marburg outbreak was in Angola in 2005 when it killed 200 people. The first ever case was reported in 1967 in Germany, where seven people lost their lives.
Image source: @Reuters
