What is the Marburg Virus?

Equatorial Guinea has confirmed it's first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus disease, according to the World Health Organisation.

The Ebola-related virus is responsible for at least nine deaths so far, with 16 suspected cases and more than 4,000 have now been quarantined and told to stay in their homes.

Cameroon, a neighbouring country, has enforced restrictions on movements in the southern border.

On Monday (February 13), the WHO released a statement where it detailed how samples from Equatorial Guinea were sent to a lab in Senegal to find out the cause of disease after an alert from a local health official last week.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Medical experts have been deployed to the small West African country to trace contacts, isolate and provide medical care to those experiencing symptoms.

Symptoms of Marburg virus include fever, fatigue and blood-stained vomit and diarrhoea.

Marburg virus is a rare but severe viral haemorrhagic fever is similar to Ebola and can kill up to 88 per cent of people who get infected.

The virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials, WHO says.

It was first documented back in 1967 with outbreaks inside laboratories in Marburg, Germany and Belgrade, Serbia led to seven deaths due to them being exposed to the virus while carrying out research on monkeys.

“Marburg is highly infectious. Thanks to the rapid and decisive action by the Equatorial Guinean authorities in confirming the disease, emergency response can get to full steam quickly so that we save lives and halt the virus as soon as possible," Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa said.

There are no vaccines or medicine approved to treat Marburg virus currently but survival rates can be improved with rehydration treatments that help to alleviate symptoms.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.