The World Health Organization (WHO) called an urgent meeting on February 14 in response to reports of a viral outbreak regarded to be one of the worst diseases in the world occurring in West Africa.
The organization convened the gathering of experts from all over the world to speed up research and development of vaccines and therapies for the deadly Marburg virus.
There are worries that the sickness, which is currently incurable and has an 88% infection rate, could become a pandemic.
The virus, which is thought to be more dangerous than Ebola and has been found in Equatorial Guinea, claimed the lives of nine people. The ailment is believed to affect at least a dozen more people, according to officials.
The nine occurrences were found in the Kie Ntem province. In the neighboring countries of Gabon and Cameroon, movement is being restricted.
The virus was labeled as “epidemic-prone” by the WHO, indicating that it has the potential to cause the next big pandemic. Some patients who contract the virus experience eye hemorrhaging and are very contagious.
The Marburg Virus Vaccine Collaboration (MARVAC) anticipated that it may take months until they build a workable vaccine and make it accessible, despite the fact that producers would need to gather ingredients and carry out test trials on the vaccine.
As of right now, the virus has been discovered twice in West Africa, with the most recent outbreak occurring in Equatorial Guinea months after the initial one in Ghana.
George Ameh, the WHO national representative for Equatorial Guinea, said during the conference that there is now more surveillance in place in the regions where the epidemic has been noted. He said that the COVID-19 teams had been dispatched to the country to help with contact tracing.
Equatorial Guinea and the WHO both recognized the first viral outbreak on Monday, February 13. The virus was found in samples taken from deceased individuals who had signs such as fatigue, fever, diarrhea, and bloody vomit.
Although they are naturally infected with the virus, African fruit bats don’t become ill from it. The Marburg virus is extremely rare but also quite deadly when it does occur.
Despite the low annual global fatality rates, the virus kills about 88% of infected people, depending on the strain and the treatment offered.
Although there is no vaccination for the virus and no known treatment, supportive care, like medicine and hydration, can minimize symptoms and improve survival rates.
Five experimental vaccines, the majority of which were developed for the Ebola virus, were singled out by the MARVAC team as potential study subjects.
The first viral outbreaks occurred in Serbia and Germany in 1967.
The WHO has sent experts to the country to help the affected areas diagnose and treat patients who are exhibiting symptoms.
