Cameroon finds suspected instances of Marburg virus, an sickness much like Ebola | CNN

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Cameroonian authorities detected two suspected instances of Marburg illness on Monday in Olamze, a commune on the border with Equatorial Guinea, the general public well being delegate for the area, Robert Mathurin Bidjang, mentioned on Tuesday.

Equatorial Guinea formally declared its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, an sickness much like Ebola, on Monday.

Neighboring Cameroon had restricted movement alongside the border to keep away from contagion following studies of an unknown, lethal hemorrhagic fever in Equatorial Guinea final week.

“On the thirteenth of February, we had two suspected instances. These are two 16-year-old kids, a boy and a woman, who haven’t any earlier journey historical past to the affected areas in Equatorial Guinea,” Bidjang mentioned at a gathering in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.

Forty-two individuals who got here into contact with the 2 kids have been recognized and get in touch with tracing was ongoing, he added.

The World Well being Group (WHO) mentioned earlier on Tuesday that it was growing its epidemiological surveillance in Equatorial Guinea.

The small Central African nation has thus far reported 9 deaths in addition to 16 suspected instances of Marburg virus illness, with signs together with fever, fatigue, and blood-stained vomit and diarrhea, in line with the WHO.

“Surveillance within the subject has been intensified,” mentioned George Ameh, WHO’s nation consultant in Equatorial Guinea.

“Contact tracing, as you recognize, is a cornerstone of the response. We now have…redeployed the COVID-19 groups that have been there for contact tracing and shortly retrofitted them to essentially assist us out.”

Equatorial Guinea quarantined greater than 200 folks and restricted motion final week in its Kie-Ntem province, the place the hemorrhagic fever was first detected.

Marburg virus is a extremely infectious illness that may have a fatality price of as much as 88%, in line with the WHO. There aren’t any vaccines or antiviral remedies authorized to deal with it.

“We’re engaged on a 30-day response plan the place we must always have the ability to quantify what are the precise measures and quantify what are the precise wants,” Ameh mentioned.

He added that the nation’s authorities had not reported any new suspected instances within the final 48 hours.