Infectious Diseases Update: Week ending 9 July 2022

Published on MedED: 9 July 2022


This week saw the report of 2 cases of the Marburg virus in Ghana. Samples obtained from two deceased patients in the southern Ashanti region have been sent to the WHO collaboration testing laboratory in Senegal for confirmation. If confirmed, this is only the second time Marburg has been detected in West Africa.¹

Marburg viral disease(MVD) is caused by the same zoonotic viral family that causes Ebola – namely  - Filoviridae. The reservoir for MVD is thought to be Egyptian fruit bats, and it is believed that entry into caves of mines where the bats naturally reside may be associated with the outbreaks.2  A quick google search turned up that the Ashanti area is indeed associated with mining – gold mining to be exact - so this latest outbreak seems to fit that assertion. 2 The WHO has its teams on the ground and has already begun preparing to ramp up the detection and contact tracing process as part of an outbreak response preparedness. 3

Continuing with the Filoviridae virus and this week, there was good news out of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a report from the WHO that the 14th outbreak of Ebola in that country has been officially declared over.4
This outbreak was restricted to four confirmed patients and a possible fifth patient, all of whom subsequently died. The containment of the disease is credited to the swift action by the WHO and the health authorities in the region, the result, according to the WHO, of learnings from previous outbreaks⁴

This brings us to our last story, and which is the launch on Tuesday of this week of the Pandemic Science Institute at Oxford University. The institute aims to “..reduce the risks posed by infectious diseases by improving data collection, strengthening surveillance and helping to create vaccines and other countermeasures.”5 It aims to learn from the global response to COVID, and harness its global partnerships and research capacity to improve pandemic preparedness. One area the institute will focus on is vaccine manufacture globally, and, alluding to our earlier story regarding the TRIPS waiver, look to technology transfer in underserved regions. The institute hopes to “fill the gaps” to enable a more proactive approach to pandemics, as opposed to what happened during COVID. 

In other news, Monkeypox continues to spread globally, with over 6000 cases reported in 58 countries. Europe is the epicentre of this outbreak, while in South Africa, we are still sitting with just two cases. ⁶ There is speculation that the number of cases globally may be higher, as there is believed to be significant underreporting, and testing remains a challenge. At Wednesday’s press briefing, the WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros indicated that the organization may reconsider its decision to classify the condition as a public health emergency of international concern should the caseload continue to rise.
 

1. Ghana reports first-ever suspected cases of Marburg virus disease (WHO)
2. Ebola and Marburg virus diseases in Africa: Increased risk of outbreaks in previously unaffected areas?
3. Central Ashanti Gold Project
4. The Democratic Republic of the Congo declares 14th Ebola outbreak over (UN)
5. Oxford University Takes Aim at Future Pandemic Threats (Bloomberg)
6. Monkeypox case identified in South Africa (NCID)