Dr. Michael Owusu, a virologist at the KCCR in Kumasi, Ghana, has suggested that proactive steps be done to investigate the potential zoonotic origins of the Marburg virus and sensitise the general population on these hazards in accordance.
It was crucial that the Ghana Health Service and other stakeholders show a genuine interest in looking into the zoonotic origins since, in his opinion, there is little doubt that the Marburg virus outbreak in Ghana was spread from an animal to the initial victims rather than being imported into the nation.
He said on JoyNews' PM Express that a disease like the Marburg has been passed from animal to man in Ghana before, so this wouldn't be the first time.
"I firmly believe that this may have a zoonotic origin and not be related to an imported case. If you recall, the Ashanti Region saw two fatal instances of Lassa fever in 2011... and additional research revealed that rats in such communities had these viruses. People initially noticed a red light there, he claimed.
He said that thorough research on bats in the nation in 2010 had shown that the majority of them were either virus carriers or had recovered from infections.
"And after that, tests were conducted, and sometime in 2010, they screened approximately 262 bats in Accra and Kumasi and discovered antibodies to Marburg and Ebola. This dates the situation back to even the first occurrence of monkey pox in the US, which was linked to over 800 animals—squirrels—sent from Ghana and processed in the US and caused some of the illnesses we are currently documenting.
"We have also conducted a number of studies; we have screened many, many bats residing in various locations, including Rousettus bats, Eidolon bats, and Hipposideros bats. These bats may have antibodies to some of these [viruses] even if you can't locate the RNA in their faeces, he warned.
This was a sign that the viruses "are resting in this fauna merely waiting for an opportunity to go into the human," according to the virologist. Even if the present contact tracing effort was admirable and crucial to stopping the virus's transmission, he added, concentrating on only that without looking into and raising awareness about the zoonotic origins of these viruses would only have a spillover impact
"You may complete dealing with the human-to-human phase but you're merely waiting for another time for the animal source to be reintroduced into the population and this is going to be a long, winding, years upon years," he said, explaining the situation.
"You may focus your intervention if you know that a Rousettus bat is sitting someplace in this neighbourhood and is carrying the virus. You can effectively inform the public to stay away from certain animal species and You may categorise this inside your area, which is helpful to you, he said.
According to the WHO, marburg is transferred among people by direct contact with the body fluids of infected individuals, contaminated surfaces, and infected products. Marburg is transmitted to humans from fruit bats.
Although there is currently no cure for Marburg, experts suggest that addressing some of the symptoms and drinking water can increase survival chances.
blogpay
