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Equatorial Guinea Marburg Cases Climb

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FILE: Two young women at the entrance to the "Campo Yaunde" health center located in Nubili, the largest slum in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on February 14, 2023. The country just confirmed eight new Marburg virus cases. (Photo: Samuel Obiang Mbana / VOA)
FILE: Two young women at the entrance to the "Campo Yaunde" health center located in Nubili, the largest slum in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on February 14, 2023. The country just confirmed eight new Marburg virus cases. (Photo: Samuel Obiang Mbana / VOA)

UPDATED WITH NEW DEATH TOLL: DAKAR - The Marburg virus epidemic in Equatorial Guinea has left 20 people dead over the past two months, the World Health Organisation said Thursday.

The WHO said that "so far, there are 20 probable cases and 20 deaths" in the country.

The new cases have been reported from Kie-Ntem in the east, Litoral in the west and the Centro Sur provinces, all of which have borders with Cameroon and Gabon.

The epidemic is therefore now a serious problem in three of Equatorial Guinea's four mainland provinces.

The spread of Marburg "is a critical signal to scale up response efforts to quickly stop the chain of transmission and avert a potential large-scale outbreak and loss of life," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO's regional director for Africa.

Between March 11-20, eight new cases were identified, six of which proved fatal, the Equatorial Guinea government said on its website, without giving a total toll since the beginning of the epidemic.

The last official death toll, on February 28, was 11 victims.

The WHO said that "so far, there are 20 probable cases and 20 deaths" in the country.

In eastern Africa, Tanzania said Tuesday that five people had died from the virus, while neighboring Uganda, which had its last outbreak in 2017, said it was on "high alert".

The WHO said additional experts in epidemiology, logistics, health operations and infection prevention and control would be deployed in the coming days.

The agency is also supporting the health authorities in neighboring Cameroon and Gabon to ramp up outbreak readiness and response capabilities.

The Marburg virus causes severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.

It is part of the so-called filovirus family that also includes Ebola, which has wreaked havoc in several previous outbreaks in Africa.

Neighboring Cameroon also detected two suspected cases of Marburg disease last month despite restricting movement along the border to avoid contagion.

Marburg virus disease is a viral hemorrhagic fever that can have a fatality rate of up to 88%, according to the WHO.

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