Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye
The Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) has claimed the life of one more person, according to the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
This brings the number of deaths related to the MVD to three since the first two suspected cases were detected in June, 2022.
The deceased was said to have been in close contact with one of the first two suspected cases recorded in the Adansi North District of the Ashanti Region.
Director General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, giving an update on the disease, said the victim reported symptoms after completing the maximum quarantine period of 21 days, tested positive for MVD and died on July 21, 2022.
He noted that initial test for the close contact of the deceased has also come out positive.
“Currently, 40 additional contacts have been identified in the Savannah Region and are being followed up, 11 of the 40 contacts are health care workers,” Dr. Kuma-Aboagye said.
He indicated that daily monitoring of temperature and general health and well-being are being undertaken by healthcare staff in the affected districts.
Initial Cases
Dr. Kuma-Aboagye said out of the two initial suspected cases, one was confirmed by the Institute Pasteur in Dakar (IPD) as Marburg after initial tests at the NMIMR while the other met the case definition of a chronic peptic ulcer disease.
“A cumulative list of 118 contacts in three districts in the three regions were identified; Ashanti- 50; Savannah- 48 and Western- 20. 19 of the contacts were HCWs; 99 were close family members or household/community contacts,” he said.
He indicated that all 118 contacts traced to the first confirmed Marburg Virus completed the quarantine period of 21 days and were discharged.
He said surveillance and contact tracing is being undertaken in the three affected districts; Sawla-Tuna-Kalba of the Savannah Region, Adansi North and Bekwai, in the Ashanti Region and Prestea Huni Valley in the Western Region, where the first positive case started before moving to Adansi North.
He said a Rapid Response Team has been constituted by the GHS and its partners to support the regional and district response teams for detailed investigations.
“We are providing more PPEs and other logistics and a regional Rapid Response Team (RRT) to support Adansi North District for surveillance, risk communication, and contact tracing,” he added.
MVD
Marburg Virus Disease is a rare but severe haemorrhagic fever that affects both humans and non-human primates.
Fruit bats are natural hosts of Marburg virus.
The Marburg virus is transmitted to people from animals and spreads among humans through human-to-human transmission from direct contact with body fluids, blood and other discharges from the affected person/animal.
The incubation period for the disease is two to twenty-one days, and treatment is symptomatic.
Persons with MVD may present with symptoms such a fever, bloody diarrhoea, bleeding from gums, bleeding into the skin, bleeding into eyes and bloody urine.
According to the GHS, there is currently no vaccine available.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri