Guinea Reports 1st Marburg Virus Death

Guinea detected the first death of a dangerous Ebola-like virus called Marburg, media agencies reported on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that samples of the virus were found in a patient in the Gueckedou region in the West African country. In addition, it is the first detected case of the highly infectious virus and it came after a few weeks of the end of the Ebola pandemic.

WHO mentioned in an official statement: "Gueckedou, where Marburg has been confirmed, is also the same region where cases of the 2021 Ebola outbreak in Guinea as well as the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak were initially detected."

It added: "Samples taken from a now-deceased patient and tested by a field laboratory in Gueckedou as well as Guinea's national hemorrhagic fever laboratory turned out positive for the Marburg virus. Further analysis by the Institut Pasteur in Senegal confirmed the result."

In the same context, local health authorities announced that they are attempting to detect people who had direct contact with the late patient to control the infection. Therefore, WHO sent a 10-expert team to the West African state to assist the authorities during such a state of emergency.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the regional director of WHO for Africa, said: "We applaud the alertness and the quick investigative action by Guinea's health workers. The potential for the Marburg virus to spread far and wide means we need to stop it in its tracks."

The deadly virus was first identified in 1967 in Germany and Yugoslavia after 31 persons were infected by monkeys came from Uganda. The outbreak of the virus was somehow limited.

However, it is highly infectious and transmisable, and humans can be infected by having direct contact with fruit bats. Also, it is symptoms are so close to ebola.