Marburg Virus Disease Detected in West Africa for First Time

Update (September 20): Guinea’s Ministry of Health officially declared the Marburg outbreak over on September 16, according to a WHO announcement. No further cases of the virus had been identified, and investigators are still trying to determine the source of the infection.

Update (August 31): As of yesterday, the WHO has found no additional cases of Marburg in Guinea, STAT’s Helen Branswell reports on Twitter.

A man who died August 2 in Guéckédou Prefecture, Guinea, has been confirmed to have had Marburg virus disease, the World Health Organization announced yesterday. The case marks the first time the highly virulent, Ebola-like virus has been found infecting a person in West Africa. Previous outbreaks of Marburg virus disease, which is spread through contact with the body fluids of infected people or animals, have occurred mainly in eastern and southern Africa, according to The Guardian....