First-ever Marburg virus disease outbreak in Equatorial Guinea and
Tanzania: an imminent crisis in West and East Africa.
Abstract
The Marburg virus, which is a member of the same virus family as the
Ebola virus called Filoviridae, causes the severe infectious disease
known as Marburg Virus Disease (MVD). Previously, different outbreaks of
MVD have appeared in different African countries, including Ghana,
Guinea, Uganda, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and
South Africa. For the first time, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania are
experiencing MVD outbreaks. A total of 15 laboratory-confirmed cases of
MVD and 23 probable cases have been reported in Equatorial Guinea since
the confirmation of the outbreak on 13 February 2023. The first MVD
outbreak in the United Republic of Tanzania was formally confirmed by
the Ministry of Health on March 21, 2023. As of 22 March, there were
eight cases and five fatalities (case fatality ratio [CFR]: 62.5%).
Due to the facts that Ebebiyin and Nsock Nsomo districts, the affected
regions of Equatorial Guinea, borders Cameroon and Gabon, and Kagera
region, the affected region of Tanzania, borders Uganda, Rwanda and
Burundi, there is fear of cross-border spread of MVD due to cross-border
migrations, and this can be a great crisis in West and East Africa.
Although there are currently outbreaks of MVD in Equatorial Guinea and
Tanzania, there is currently no proof of an epidemiological connection
between the two outbreaks. The aim of this paper is to describe Marburg
Virus Disease (MVD), describe its first outbreak in Equatorial Guinea
and Tanzania, explain the efforts being used and the challenges being
faced in MVD mitigation, and recommend different measures to be taken to
cope with the outbreak of MVD in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.