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Ghana Declares the End of Marburg Virus Outbreak
February 8, 2023
Ghana's president's office declared the outbreak of the Marburg virus to be over. The virus is a highly contagious disease that is similar to the Ebola virus, which was confirmed in July.
The outbreak in Ghana follows the discovery of the virus's first case in Guinea last year, making it the second outbreak in West Africa. Nonetheless, no new cases were discovered in Guinea.
"The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has officially declared Ghana free from the Marburg virus disease outbreak that was confirmed nearly two months ago," the presidency tweeted on Monday.
Ghana's government confirmed its first outbreak of the disease on July 17.
In total, three cases have been confirmed, two of which were fatal. The third patient was asymptomatic and fully recovered.
There have been a dozen major Marburg outbreaks since 1967, mostly in southern and eastern Africa. Fatality rates have varied from 24% to 88% in past outbreaks depending on the virus strain and case management, according to the World Health Organization.
