Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe has revealed that two males aged twenty-six (26) and fifty-one (51) years farmers from Bekwai and Adensi North all in the Ashanti Region have been confirmed with the Marburg Virus Disease (MVD).
He told Alfred Ocansey on 3FM’s Sunrise Morning Show on Monday 18 July 2022 that so far the first batch of the contacts traced have not shown symptoms of the Marburg Virus Disease though they have attained the twenty-one days incubation period.
“Today is day 21 and none of the contacts has shown any traces. The 39 first batch of contacts I mean. There were two sets of contacts that were traced. That’s the Ashanti region set numbering fifty and the Savannah region group made up of forty-eight people totalling ninety-eight” Mr Asiedu-Bekoe indicated.
According to the Director of Public Health, the contacts attended a family burial ceremony at Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District in the Savannah Region.
He indicated that Marburg is not common in Ghana, these are the first two cases we have identified, so we are still trying to explore what could have happened, hence GHS is still conducting investigations and considers the current cases as a localized outbreak. “There are no new cases recorded” Asiedu-Bekoe further stated.
The Ghana Health Service in a press statement issued on 17 July 2022 confirmed the two initial suspected cases from the Ashanti Region which were announced on 7th July 2022 of which further testing was conducted at the Institute Pasteur in Dakar Senegal to corroborate the initial results from the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research.
Mr Asiedu-Bekoe has advised all to be on the lookout for suspected symptoms and also ensure personal safety and hygiene to avoid contracting the disease since it has a very high fatality rate.
He also admonishes eaters of bats especially to make sure it is well prepared and handled with optimum caution since they can easily carry and transfer the virus to persons.
