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. 2023 Aug;11(8):e980.
doi: 10.1002/iid3.980.

First-ever Marburg virus disease outbreak in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania: An imminent crisis in West and East Africa

Olivier Sibomana  1 , Emmanuel Kubwimana  2
Affiliations

First-ever Marburg virus disease outbreak in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania: An imminent crisis in West and East Africa

Olivier Sibomana et al. Immun Inflamm Dis. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

The Marburg virus, which is a member of the same virus family as the Ebola virus called Filoviridae, causes the severe infectious disease known as Marburg virus disease (MVD). Previously, different outbreaks of MVD have appeared in different African countries, including Ghana, Guinea, Uganda, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and South Africa. For the first time, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania are experiencing MVD outbreaks. A total of 17 laboratory-confirmed cases of MVD and 23 probable cases have been reported in Equatorial Guinea since the confirmation of the outbreak on February 13, 2023. The first MVD outbreak in the United Republic of Tanzania was formally confirmed by the Ministry of Health on March 21, 2023. As of 22 March, there were eight cases and five fatalities (case fatality ratio [CFR]: 62.5%). Due to the facts that Ebebiyin and Nsock Nsomo districts, the affected regions of Equatorial Guinea, borders Cameroon and Gabon, and Kagera region, the affected region of Tanzania, borders Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, there is fear of cross-border spread of MVD due to cross-border migrations, and this can be a great crisis in West and East Africa. Although there are currently outbreaks of MVD in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, there is currently no proof of an epidemiological connection between the two outbreaks. The aim of this article is to describe MVD, describe its first outbreak in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, explain the efforts being used and the challenges being faced in MVD mitigation, and recommend different measures to be taken to cope with the outbreak of MVD in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.

Keywords: Equatorial Guinea; Marburg virus disease; Tanzania; outbreak.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) in African countries. Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2016.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Countries reporting outbreaks of Marburg virus disease. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of High‐Consequence Pathogens and Pathology (DHCPP), and Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of Marburg virus disease (MVD)‐affected districts in Equatorial Guinea. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of High‐Consequence Pathogens and Pathology (DHCPP), and Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Marburg virus disease (MVD) affected district of Bukoba in Tanzania. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of High‐Consequence Pathogens and Pathology (DHCPP), and Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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