NCDC On High Alert After Confirmation Of Marburg Virus In Ghana

The NCDC director-general, Ifedayo Adetifa stated this in a statement Tuesday, noting that no case of Marburg virus has been reported in Nigeria but several measures are being put in place to prevent its outbreak

On Monday, the World Health Organization, (WHO) confirmed the outbreak of the virus in Ghana after blood samples from two patients in the southern Ashanti region, both of whom later died, tested positive.

The current outbreak in Ghana is the second time the virus will be detected in West Africa, after the 2021 experience in Guinea.

Mr Adetifa revealed in the statement that given the proximity of Ghana to Nigeria as well as the WHO alert, the NCDC-led multisectoral National Emerging Viral Haemorrhagic Diseases Working Group (EVHDWG) has conducted a rapid risk assessment to guide in-country preparedness activities.

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Based on available data, the NCDC DG said, the overall risk of both importations of the disease and its potential impact on the Nigerian population is said to be moderate.

He noted that this was assessed by NCDC experts and partners considering the proximity and high traffic from Ghana and countries that share borders, the incubation period of 21 days of the virus, and heightened surveillance at the point of entry.

It added that they also considered “Nigeria’s capacity to respond to the outbreak in the country and the fact that persons with MVD transmit the virus when they become symptomatic unlike for SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 that can also be transmitted by infected persons without symptoms.”

The NCDC boss also noted that Nigeria has the capacity to test for the virus presently at the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja and the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital Laboratory Centre for Human and Zoonotic Virology.

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“Diagnostic capacity can be scaled up to other laboratories if required. Nigeria has the resources (human, technical and laboratory) for prompt identification and management in the event of a single imported case,” he added.

Mr Adetifa assured that the risk of importation may be further reduced as the current situation in Ghana is under control and active case finding is ongoing while there is heightened surveillance in Togo and Benin.

He also disclosed that “many of the contacts under follow-up in Ghana will soon exit the 21-day quarantine period and so far, there have been no secondary cases reported.”

Source: Premium Times