July 18 (UPI) — Ghana has reported two cases of the highly infectious Marburg virus, the World Health Organization said, making it the first-ever outbreak of the disease in the West African nation.
The intergovernmental health body announced Ghana had declared the outbreak Sunday in a statement after the WHO’s Collaborating Center laboratory confirmed its results.
According to the WHO, the samples were taken from two deceased and unrelated patients from the southern Ashanti region who exhibited symptoms of the disease, including diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting.
The cases were identified as a 26-year-old man who died June 27, a day after checking into the hospital, and a 51-year-old man who died June 28, the same day he entered the hospital. Both patients had sought medical treatment at the same facility, it said.
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