Ghana Confirms First Outbreak , of Marburg Virus.
CNN reports that on July 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the West African country has confirmed two cases of the deadly disease.
Two patients from the southern Ashanti region
who tested positive for the virus have died.
Their symptoms included diarrhea,
nausea, vomiting and fever.
According to the WHO, over 90 contacts
are currently being monitored.
Marburg is in the same family as the
Ebola virus, with a fatality ratio of up to 88%.
It is transmitted to people from fruit bats,
at which point human-to-human transmission
is possible via contact with bodily fluids.
The WHO said containment measures are already underway because "without immediate and decisive action, Marburg can easily get out of hand.".
There are no vaccines or
antiviral treatments for the virus.
CNN reports that previous Marburg outbreaks have occurred in Guinea, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa,
the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
The 2005 Angola outbreak
resulted in over 200 people dying