Marburg virus outbreak comes to an end in Guinea

The outbreak of the Marburg virus has come to an end in Guinea, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) African Region announced on Thursday. 

There have been no new cases in the past 42 days with only one case ever recorded from the incident. 

There were 171 high-risk contacts for the contagious disease who were monitored for 21 days in quarantine. 

The first and only case was confirmed on Aug. 9 after a man was found displaying symptoms of the disease on July 25 and died from it on Aug. 2.

It was the first ever case of Marburg, a disease that has no cure, in Guinea or West Africa. The fatality rate is from 24 to 88 percent. 

“Without immediate & decisive action, highly infectious diseases like #Marburg can easily get out of hand,” Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa, said in a tweet Thursday.

He said the growing expertise in the region had helped save lives and contain the disease.

Without immediate & decisive action, highly infectious diseases like #Marburg can easily get out of hand.

Today we can point to the growing expertise in outbreak response in #Guinea & the region that has saved lives, contained * averted a spill-over of the Marburg virus. https://t.co/WeaCLydNxy

— Dr Matshidiso Moeti (@MoetiTshidi) September 16, 2021

The Marburg virus scare hit the same area where an Ebola outbreak occurred earlier in the year and where the Ebola outbreak began in 2014. 

The WHO will continue to help Guinea monitor the situation as “flare-ups” can occur.