Deadly Marburg virus in Ghana, 2022 amidst monkeypox and COVID-19 pandemic: A distressing concern for public health

Potential threats of Marburg virus in the Sub-Saharan African region: bridging the gaps

“…MARV, like the Ebola virus, is a negative-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the order: Mononegavirales, family: Filoviridae, and genus: Marburgvirus [1] . Marburg virus disease (MVD) causes hemorrhagic fever just like other viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) known in the world [1] . The incubation period of the Marburg virus is estimated to be 2-21 days [11] , typically 5-10 days, and is likely related to the infectious dose and route [12] .…”

“…Despite global efforts to curtail the Marburg virus (MARV) spread, the virus remains a global health threat in most parts of the world, especially in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] . MARV, like the Ebola virus, is a negative-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the order: Mononegavirales, family: Filoviridae, and genus: Marburgvirus [1] . Marburg virus disease (MVD) causes hemorrhagic fever just like other viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) known in the world [1] .…”

“…Over the past few decades, the Sub-Saharan areas have experienced several epidemics of the Marburg virus, including Ebola, bubonic plague, HIV/AIDS, meningitis, cholera, etc [3][4][5] . Sadly, from 2021 to 2023, there was another outbreak of MARV in SSA countries such as Ghana, Tanzania, the Equatorial Republic of Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, etc., posing more global threats to the Sub-Saharan region and the international communities [1,6,7] . Threats like limited awareness, knowledge, attitude, and perception of MARV among the Sub-Saharan populations, especially those living in the epidemic zones where the community dwellers still consume the infected vector (the Egyptian Fruit bat).…”

“…We are advocating that the development of a safe and effective vaccine against the Marburg virus in SSA should be a top goal for African leaders. Studies have shown that vaccination can provide long-term protection and help avert future outbreaks of diseases in SSA [1][2][3][4]6,10] . Also, several vaccine alternatives, including viral vector-based vaccines and DNA-based immunizations are being studied in preclinical and clinical studies.…”

“…Threats like limited awareness, knowledge, attitude, and perception of MARV among the Sub-Saharan populations, especially those living in the epidemic zones where the community dwellers still consume the infected vector (the Egyptian Fruit bat). Other problems include a lack of political will by the African governments to put lasting solutions to the outbreaks of MARV in the Sub-Saharan region, misdiagnoses of MARV by the healthcare providers in SSA countries, limited diagnostic kits and treatment facilities in the country, economic crises, conflicts with other infectious diseases like COVID-19, cholera, typhoid, meningitis, etc 1–6 . Indeed, the advancement of technology in travel has made the world feel smaller and more interconnected, akin to a ‘global village.’ The ease and speed of travel have allowed people and goods to move across borders and continents with unprecedented efficiency.…”