Spanish authorities detect first suspected case of Marburg disease

[February 25, 2023]  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain has detected its first suspected case of Marburg disease, a deadly infectious disease that has led to the quarantining of more than 200 people in Equatorial Guinea, health authorities in the Spanish region of the Valencia said on Saturday.

A 34-year-old man, who had recently been in Equatorial Guinea, has been transferred from a private hospital to an isolation unit at the Hospital La Fe in Valencia while tests are carried out, the regional health authorities said.

Marburg virus can have a fatality rate of up to 88%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat it.

Equatorial Guinea quarantined more than 200 people and restricted movement on Feb. 13 in its Kie-Ntem province, where the hemorrhagic fever was first detected.

The small central African country has so far reported nine deaths as well as 16 suspected cases of the disease, with symptoms including fever, fatigue, blood-stained vomit and diarrhoea, according to the WHO.

The WHO said it was increasing its epidemiological surveillance in Equatorial Guinea.

Cameroonian authorities detected two suspected cases of Marburg disease on Feb. 13 in Olamze, a commune on the border with Equatorial Guinea, the public health delegate for the region, Robert Mathurin Bidjang, said on Feb. 14.

Cameroon had restricted movement along the border to try to avoid contagion.

(Reporting by Graham Keeley; Editing by Mark Potter)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.