On Jul. 17, 2022, Ghana announced the preliminary finding of two cases of Marburg virus disease and if confirmed would be the first such infections recorded in the country. Marburg is a highly infectious viral haemorrhagic fever in the same family as the more well-known Ebola virus disease.

Preliminary analysis of samples taken from two patients by the country’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research indicated the cases were positive for Marburg. However, per the standard procedure, the samples have been sent to the Institut Pasteur in Senegal, a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for confirmation. The two patients from the southern Ashanti region – both deceased and unrelated – showed symptoms including diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting. They had been taken to a district hospital in Ashanti region. 

Preparations for a possible outbreak response are being set up swiftly as further investigations are underway.