The first two cases of Deadly Marburg virus in Ghana, confirmed

Ghana has confirmed the first two cases of the deadly Marburg virus; it is highly infectious and belongs to the same family of the virus that causes Ebola.

Both the patients died recently in the hospital in the southern Ashanti region. Their sample report came positive earlier this month, and a Senegal laboratory has verified it. According to the West African Health officials, as suspected contact cases, 98 peoples are now under quarantine.

No treatment is yet found for Marburg, but the doctors say treating specific symptoms and drinking plenty of water can improve a patient’s chances of survival. It is a fatal illness with symptoms such as muscle pain, fever, bleeding, and vomiting blood.

The virus Marburg is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spread among humans through the transmission of bodily fluids. Officials warn people to cook meat products thoroughly before consumption and to keep away from caves. The first Marburg virus outbreak was in Germany, where seven people died in 1967. The WHO said that the previous outbreak and sporadic cases in Africa were reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. In Angola, the Marburg virus killed more than 200 people in 2005; according to the global health body, it was the deadliest outbreak.