Ghana has confirmed its first two cases of the deadly and highly infectious Marburg virus. It says both patients died recently in a hospital in the southern Ashanti region.
Marburg virus is a highly infectious disease in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola.
The samples of the two cases came back positive earlier this month and have now been verified by a laboratory in Senegal.
According to Health officials in the West African nation, 98 people are now under quarantine as suspected contact cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the country’s health authorities
The WHO has also praised Ghana’s quick response.
“This is good because, without immediate and decisive action, Marburg can easily get out of hand,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s Africa director.
There is no treatment still to exist for Marburg, but doctors say drinking plenty of water and treating specific symptoms improves a patient’s chances of survival.
The virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads between humans through the transmission of bodily fluids.
It is a severe, often fatal illness with symptoms including headache, fever, muscle pains, vomiting blood and bleeding.
The first ever Marburg outbreak was in Germany in 1967 when seven people died.
