Guinea confirmed the first case of the Marburg virus in west Africa

Health authorities in Guinea have confirmed the first case of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious virus from the same family as Ebola. The virus commonly causes fever and internal bleeding and has a fatality rate of up to 88%. There have been 12 major Marburg outbreaks since 1967, mostly in southern and eastern Africa, with the last one being in Angola in 2005. However, this marks the first time the deadly disease has been identified in western Africa.

The disease is spread to humans through fruit bats, after which it can spread between humans through direct contact. Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) are now using contact tracing methods to determine whether others have contracted the virus.