The Ghana Health Service, GHS, has reported four cases of the Marburg Virus Disease, MVD, in the country, two of whom are confirmed dead.
The cases were discovered on 24th July, 2022, following test results from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR).
The second case, a 51-year-old male with a known chronic disease and not linked to the first case was, however, awaiting re-testing.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases to four.
According to a statement issued by the Service and signed by Director-General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, all the three confirmed cases were related.
The statement said the first of the three cases is a 26-year-old male who got ill on 22nd June 2022 and later bled from the nose and mouth.
He was admitted to a hospital in the Ashanti Region on 26th June 2022 and died 28 hours after admission.
The second case was a one-year-two-month old baby who happened to be the son of the first case. He got ill and was admitted on 17th July 2022 but died on the third day of admission.
The third case is a 24-year-old female, who is the mother of Case 2 and the wife of Case 1.
She is reported to be alive and currently being managed in a government-designated isolation centre with full implementation of strict infection prevention and control measures.
The statement further said 118 contacts were initially identified and followed up including the two dead cases who later tested positive.
The statement said the remaining 116 contacts have completed the mandatory 21-day follow up and are all well.
The GHS is making efforts to identify additional contacts if any.
It said Ghana’s National Public Health Emergency Operations Centre has been activated and is at the forefront in the planning and implementation of the response measures in collaboration with Partners. National support teams have also been deployed to the affected regions to provide the necessary support to ensure containment of the outbreak.
The statement assured the general public that all efforts are being made to prevent any further spread of cases.
It is urging all persons to report to the nearest health facility if they feel unwell for appropriate care.
