WHO confirms Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea: What to know about the viral disease

Staff and wire reports
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DAKAR, Senegal – The World Health Organization says that Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of Marburg disease, saying the Ebola-related virus is responsible for at least nine deaths in the tiny Western African country.

In a statement on Monday, the U.N. health agency confirmed the epidemic after samples from Equatorial Guinea were sent to a lab in Senegal to pinpoint the cause of disease after an alert from a local health official last week.

The WHO said there were currently nine deaths and 16 suspected cases with symptoms including fever, fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting. The agency said it was sending medical experts to help officials in Equatorial Guinea stop the outbreak and was also sending protective equipment for hundreds of workers.

Here's what to know about the disease.

What is Marburg virus?

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in bats and spreads between people via close contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, or surfaces, like contaminated bed sheets.

Marburg causes Marburg virus disease, a hemorrhagic fever that can affect the body’s organs and cause bleeding, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Marburg virus is a zoonotic virus that, along with the six species of Ebola virus, comprises the filovirus family, the CDC said.

The rare virus was first identified in 1967 after it caused simultaneous outbreaks of disease in laboratories in Marburg, Germany and Belgrade, according to the CDC..

Thirty-one people who were exposed to the virus while conducting research on monkeys became ill, and seven died, according to the CDC.

African fruit bats are the reservoir hosts of the virus, the CDC said.

Marburg virus disease symptoms

The incubation period for the disease is anywhere from 2 days to three weeks, according to the WHO.

  • Symptoms begin abruptly, with an intense fever and headache, according to the WHO.

  • A few days after the onset, many patients experience vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain for up to a week, WHO said.

  • Severe cases are accompanied by bleeding within the first week, according to WHO. Some patients vomit blood or pass it in their stool. Patients have also bleed from their gums, nose, and genitalia, the WHO said.

  • The disease can spread to the nervous system, causing patients to become confused, irritable and aggressive.

Most fatal cases last just over a week, the WHO said, adding that deaths are typically accompanied by severe blood loss and shock.

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Marburg virus treatment

There is no cure or specific treatment for Marburg disease, the CDC said.

Still, “Early supportive care with rehydration, and symptomatic treatment improves survival,” according to the WHO, which added that a range of drug and blood therapies to treat the disease were under development.

The CDC said the case-fatality rate for the disease has ranged from 23%-90%. In a 2004 outbreak in Angola, Marburg killed 90% of 252 people infected. Last year, there were two reported Marburg deaths in Ghana.

In 2008, an American returning from travel in Uganda was retroactively diagnosed with the illness after recovery, the CDC said.

Contributing: Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marburg virus: Disease outbreak confirmed by WHO: What to know