24 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government of the United States has offered this Thursday to the Guinean-Ecuadorian authorities help to respond “successfully” to the outbreak of the Marburg virus confirmed last week in the African country.
The Secretary of the US Department of State, Antony Blinken, has spoken by telephone with the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, to whom he has offered “support and collaboration” to deal with the outbreak for which Malabo has declared a health alert .
Blinken and Obiang have agreed “that cooperation is essential to successfully respond to this outbreak,” according to the Secretary of State’s spokesman, Ned Price, in a statement.
The health authorities of Equatorial Guinea and the World Health Organization reported on February 13 an outbreak of this disease, similar to Ebola, for which they declared a health alert in the provinces of Kié Ntem and Wele Nzas.
The WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, recalled that the Marburg virus “is highly infectious.” “Thanks to the quick and decisive action of the Equatoguinean authorities in confirming the disease, the emergency response can reach its peak quickly to save lives and stop the virus as soon as possible,” she concluded.
Virus symptoms include headache, vomiting blood, and muscle aches. The disease is transmitted through contact with infected blood or other body fluids and tissues. There are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments to treat the virus, which has an 88 percent fatality rate.
In Africa, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. Guinea confirmed a case in August 2021 in Gueckedou, while Ghana confirmed two cases in July 2022.
