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News > Gabon

Gabon on Alert for Marburg Virus Outbreak in Equatorial Guinea

  • African health workers disinfecting an area affected by the Marburg virus, 2023.

    African health workers disinfecting an area affected by the Marburg virus, 2023. | Photo: Twitter/ @DworaczekBendom

Published 16 February 2023
Opinion

Africa CDC assured that the Marburg outbreak should not "sow panic" in Cameroon and Gabon as epidemiologists are working to contain it.

On Wednesday, the Gabonese government decided to activate a contingency plan following the Marburg virus outbreak declared in Equatorial Guinea, a country bordering Gabon to the west.

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Equatorial Guinea Responds to Marburg Virus Outbreak​​​​​​

Gabon has for the occasion drawn up "a contingency plan whose objective is zero contamination of Marburg virus disease," read a press release by the Gabonese government.

Libreville has also dispatched a team of technicians led by the Health Minister Guy Patrick Obiang Ndong to identify an isolation area for possible suspected cases in the border areas.

"No Marburg virus case has been reported on the Gabonese territory. The Government has taken the necessary measures to avoid the virus's spread in our country," Obiang Ndong said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic had enabled Gabon to strengthen its health care system.

On Thursday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) assured that the Marburg outbreak should not "sow panic" in Cameroon and Gabon as epidemiologists are working to contain it.

"At the moment, we have not seen any danger beyond the risk in the affected communities," Africa CDC Acting Director Ahmed Ogwell said, recalling that the outbreak was detected in the province of Kie-Ntem in Equatorial Guinea.

On Monday, the Equatorial Guinean authorities confirmed the death of nine people affected by the virus. So far, 21 people remain in isolation but no new cases have been detected. 

Marburg virus disease is as deadly as Ebola, with a mortality rate of 88 percent. It is estimated that it killed over 3,500 people in Africa in the past.

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