Health officials are sprinting to test whether experimental vaccines can protect against a deadly illness, after Equatorial Guinea confirmed its first outbreak of Marburg virus disease
Marburg virus particles in infected tissue. The virus causes a deadly disease characterized by haemorrhagic fever.Health officials worldwide are sprinting to test whether experimental vaccines can protect against a deadly illness, after Equatorial Guinea confirmed its first outbreak of Marburg virus disease on 13 February. The virus is related to Ebola, and causes similar symptoms of haemorrhagic fever. It has a fatality rate of up to 88%.
“I cannot emphasize enough the need for speed,” said John Edmunds, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, at the WHO meeting.The outbreak is in the north of Equatorial Guinea, in the Kié-Ntem province, which borders Cameroon and Gabon. It has been linked to 9 deaths among 25 suspected cases, with the first known case dating to early January. This makes it larger than many of the 16 Marburg outbreaks that have previously been detected, Edmunds tells.
The Sabin Vaccine Institute in Washington DC has a candidate vaccine that uses a modified chimpanzee adenovirus to deliver instructions for cells to make a Marburg virus protein, whereas a candidate made by Janssen in Beerse, Belgium, uses the human adenovirus on which the company’s successful COVID-19 vaccine was based .
If a vaccine trial in Equatorial Guinea were to go ahead, an independent group of experts that advises the WHO would make decisions about which vaccines to test, says Anna Maria Henao Restrapo, who co-leads the WHO’s R&D Blueprint effort to lay the groundwork for such studies during outbreaks. Any trial would also require the permission and involvement of Equatorial Guinea’s government.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Equatorial Guinea confirms country's first Marburg virus disease outbreak -WHOEquatorial Guinea has confirmed its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious and deadly disease similar to Ebola, following the deaths of at least nine people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
Read more »
WHO: Equatorial Guinea confirms its first Marburg virus disease outbreakEquatorial Guinea has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of the Marburg virus disease, the World Health Organization said.
Read more »
Equatorial Guinea Confirms First Outbreak of Deadly Marburg Virus DiseaseThere are no vaccines for the illness, which can have up to an 88 percent death rate.
Read more »
Rare, Ebola-related Marburg virus spreads in Equatorial GuineaWhile Marburg is rare, it is an extremely serious disease. It can have a fatality rate of up to 88 percent if left untreated.
Read more »
WHO hopes to test an experimental Marburg virus vaccine amid outbreak in Equatorial GuineaThe World Health Organization convened an urgent meeting to evaluate vaccine candidates after nine deaths and 16 suspected cases were reported.
Read more »
WHO Hopes to Test an Experimental Marburg Virus Vaccine Amid an Outbreak in Equatorial GuineaNo vaccine or antiviral treatment is approved to treat Marburg virus disease, which has an average death rate of around 50% and belongs to the same family of viruses as Ebola, according to the WHO.
Read more »