A case of Marburg, an Ebola virus relative, has been confirmed in Guinea leading to more than a 100 people being quarantined. The Hill. A man died after showing symptoms and his case was confirmed. Marburg can spread though it is not a respiratory disease like the Coronavirus and requires close contact to spread and contact with bodily fluid. Unlike Ebola, there is no vaccine for the virus and the fatality rate can range between 24% and 88%. Guinea has major experience with hemorrhagic fevers as they faced major Ebola virus outbreaks last year and in 2014.
My Comment:
Just something to keep an eye on. Marburg of course won't be the next Coronavirus but it could be the next Ebola. IN that case it would be a major regional disaster if it runs out of control. It could be a major problem for the region if it begins to spread.
Marburg might be a bit more dangerous than the Ebola outbreak as there is no vaccine to prevent the virus. One could be developed but it would take time to make sure it would work. And I don't know if there is any funding or desire to make a vaccine until things get out of control. I also don't know if immunity from Ebola, either from natural antibodies or the vaccine, would help with the Marburg virus.
If a major outbreak does happen I think Guinea and the rest of West Africa might be in trouble. The world is focused on the Coronavirus outbreak and has little desire to help Africa with its problems while they have enough of their own to deal with.
Fortunately, I don't think that the virus will spread. It looks like the health officials are already working hard with contact tracing and they took precautions to not spread the virus. Unless this guy was taken care of by his family and a family member ends up spreading their fluids to other people, I don't think the virus will spread. My guess is that this is a one off infection, probably from bushmeat, and it will sputter out soon.
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