Marburg hemorrhagic fever leaves at least nine dead in Equatorial Guinea

Nine people have died from the Marburg virusa hemorrhagic fever almost as deadly as Ebola, in eastern Equatorial Guinea, where a province was quarantined to contain the “epidemic”, announced the Minister of Health.

Last week, the government announced that possible cases of hemorrhagic fever were being investigated. Three people who had “mild symptoms” of the disease were isolated at an area hospitalsparsely populated and rural, on the border with Gabon and Cameroon, indicated Mitoha Ondo’o Ayekaba at a press conference.

The three hospitalized people “present mild symptoms […] that evolve favorably”, he added.

Equatorial Guinea “declares as of today, February 13, the health alert for Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Kie-Ntem province and Mongomo district,” the minister said.

He also announced the “launch of the contingency plan to deal with the epidemic”, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

The area where the cases were reported, populated by equatorial forest, It is located in the east of the mainland of the countrywhich also includes two main islands.

Marburg virus disease is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people, or surfaces and materials, according to the WHO. (YO)