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Against the background of the first outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in Equatorial Guinea, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that the overall risk of importing the disease into Nigeria and its impact on the health of Nigerians is moderate.
In a press release signed by its Director General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, the Agency said the extent of the MVD outbreak in Equatorial Guinea has not yet been ascertained, but the likelihood of its importation to Nigeria is high due to the direct flight between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.
To this end, the NCDC has advised Nigerian citizens and residents to avoid all but essential travels to Equatorial Guinea at this time.
“Persons with recent travel history to or transit
through Equatorial Guinea within the past 21 days who experience symptoms such as fever,
muscle pain, sore throat, diarrhea, weakness, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding
or bruising should not go to any health facility but call 6232 or their State Ministry of Health
hotline immediately for assessment and testing.”
MVD is a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) caused by a virus from the same family as the Ebola virus disease (EVD).
“The primary route of transmission is from fruit bats to humans.
Human-to-human transmission is possible through contact with the body fluids of an infected person.
Currently, the NCDC said there are no available vaccines or therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of this strain of the virus. “The early initiation of supportive treatment has been shown to significantly reduce the probability of death due to MVD.”
Equatorial Guinea announced the outbreak of the MVD on February 13. The death of nine people prompted laboratory testing on samples of individuals experiencing symptoms of fever, fatigue, blood-stained vomit, and diarrhea in two communities of the country’s western Kie Ntem province.
So far, one confirmed case, nine
deaths and 16 suspected cases of MVD have been reported in Equatorial Guinea.
Following this development, the NCDC stated that there was a possibility of importing the MVD into Nigeria based on that country’s proximity to Equatorial Guinea. Besides, Adetifa said the likelihood of MVD spread in Nigeria following importation is high due to the gatherings and travel associated with upcoming national elections.
“The case fatality rate of MVD ranges between 24 to 88 per cent,” he said, adding, “MVD does not currently have an effective drug for treatment or a licensed vaccine for prevention.
“The risk assessment also shows that Nigeria has the capacity – technical, human (health workforce), and diagnostic – required to respond effectively in the event of an outbreak.”
Nigeria has also responded to viral haemorrhagic fever epidemics like the Ebola Outbreak in
2014 and built up her preparedness and response capabilities over the years. We have the diagnostic capacity to test for MVD presently at the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) in
Abuja and the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital laboratory (LUTH) Centre for Human and
Zoonotic Virology (CHAZVY). However, diagnostic capacity will be scaled up to other
laboratories in cities with important points of entry (POE) and others as may be required.
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