The WHO announced an emergency meeting on Tuesday after nine people died in a month of Marburg virus disease in Equatorial Guinea, a hemorrhagic fever almost as deadly as Ebola.
In a brief press release, the World Health Organization indicated that it would convene during the day “
an emergency meeting
” of the so-called Marvac consortium which promotes international collaboration for the development of vaccines against the Marburg virus.
Health alert
The consortium is coordinated by the WHO and includes representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, non-profit organisations, authorities and academia.
The meeting should start at 3 p.m.
The members of the consortium will take stock of the epidemiological situation in Equatorial Guinea as well as the treatments and candidate vaccines available, the WHO said.
There are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments to treat the virus.
However, supportive care - oral or intravenous rehydration - and treatment of specific symptoms increase the chances of survival.
A range of potential treatments, including blood products, immune therapies and drugs, as well as candidate vaccines with phase 1 data are being evaluated, according to the WHO.
Read alsoWhen natural selection helps us fight viruses
On February 13, Equatorial Guinea announced the death in the east of the country of nine people between January 7 and February 7 from Marburg virus disease.
This is, according to the WHO, the “
very first epidemic of Marburg virus disease
” in this small African country located in the Center-West of the continent.
Equatorial Guinea has declared
a “health alert
” in the province of Kie-Ntem and in the (neighbouring) district of Mongomo, and the authorities have put in place a containment plan in close collaboration with the WHO to deal with the epidemic in this area covered with dense equatorial forest of the eastern mainland of this country which also includes two main islands.
Health Minister Mitoha Ondo'o Ayekaba reported on Monday that "
4,325 people are in quarantine in Nkie-Ntem
".
Transmitted by bats
So far, nine deaths and 16 suspected cases with symptoms including fever, fatigue, bloody vomiting and diarrhea have been reported, the WHO regional office in Africa said on Monday.
In-depth investigations are underway.
The Marburg virus is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and is spread among humans by direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, or with surfaces and materials.
This highly virulent disease causes hemorrhagic fever with a case fatality rate of up to 88%.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/BXKLZ5GBEBBWJHDUIDG2B5ODGE.jpg)
