All regional and district health facilities in the country have been put on high alert following a confirmed case of the Marburg virus in neighbouring West African country, Guinea.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) which issued the alert has asked all health facilities to initiate preparedness and response plan and include Marburg in its case definition.
“All regional and district public health emergency management committees should include Marburg on their agenda. Additionally, region, district health facilities and port health units at all border posts particularly along the Western border and all landing beaches are to heighten surveillance for Marburg using the standard case definition attached,” the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye directed in a statement.
He indicated that the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) had the capacity to confirm the Marburg virus and that samples from suspected cases could be transported there.
“We are to take note that under no circumstance should a public or private transport be used in transporting a suspected Marburg case.
They are to call for support from the District Director of Health Service of respective districts, municipalities or metropolis for the transfer of such persons to a health facility,” the statement charged.
Marburg virus is a haemorrhagic fever virus of the Filoviridae family of viruses and a member of the species, genus Marburg virus.
Health experts say the Marburg virus belongs to the same family as Ebola, and considered to be highly infectious.
The disease is transmitted to persons from fruit bats and spread from human-to-human through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or surfaces and materials contaminated with such fluids.
It often cause fatal illness with symptoms including high fever, severe headache, muscle pains, vomiting blood, diarrhoea, stomach pain, unexplained bleeding or bruising.
Members of the public could protect themselves against the Marburg virus by avoiding contact with body fluids (such as urine, saliva, sweat, faeces, vomit, breast milk, and semen) of people who show symptoms.
The practice of hand hygiene including frequent hand washing with soap under running water, or use an alcohol-based sanitizer as well as desisting from handling items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s body fluids could save one from being infected with the virus.
One should also avoid contact with dead bodies, including participating in funeral or burial rituals of suspected or confirmed Marburg cases.
Seek medical care immediately by visiting the nearest health facility if one develops fever (body temperature 38C or above) or other symptoms such as severe headache, fatigue (feeling very tired), muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising.
The first-ever Marburg outbreak was in Germany in 1967 where seven people died.
In Africa, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.
Cases are extremely rare, with the last major outbreak in Angola in 2005.
The virus killed more than 200 people in Angola in 2005, the deadliest outbreak on record, according to the global health body.
By ABIGAIL ANNOH
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