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Guinea Reports West Africa's First Known Marburg Virus Death

Associated Press

   CONAKRY, GUINEA - Authorities in West Africa have confirmed the
   region's first known case of Marburg virus after at least one person in
   Guinea died of the hemorrhagic fever disease, the World Health
   Organization said Monday.

   Health officials said they were trying to track down everyone who
   mighthavecome into contact withthe patient,who had sought medical
   treatment inGueckedou.

   The case was reported in the same part of Guinea where the 2014-2016
   Ebola epidemic startedandultimately killed at least 11,325 people. A
   much smaller outbreak of Ebola earlier this year also hit the same area
   near Guinea's borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia, leaving 12 dead.

   The Marburg virus belongs to the same family as Ebola, and previously
   outbreaks have erupted elsewhere across Africa in Angola, Congo, Kenya,
   South Africa and Uganda.

   The new West African case was confirmed by a laboratory in Guinea and
   again by theInstitutPasteur in nearby Senegal, according to WHO.

   "The potential for the Marburg virus to spread far and wide means we
   need to stop it in its tracks," said Dr.MatshidisoMoeti, WHO's regional
   director for Africa. "We are working with the health authorities to
   implement a swift response that builds on Guinea's past experience and
   expertise in managing Ebola, which is transmitted in a similar way."

   Marburg outbreaks start when an infected animal, such as a monkey or a
   fruit bat, passes the virus to a human. The virus then spreads from
   human to human by contact with an infected person's body fluids.

   Marburg symptoms include high fever and muscle pains, and some patients
   later bleed through body openingssuch as theeyes and ears. There is no
   approved drug or vaccine for Marburg, but rehydration and other
   supportive care can improve a patient's chances of survival.

   Case fatality rates have been as high as 88% in previous outbreaks,
   butWHO said the figure has varied based on the strain and how cases
   were managed.

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