Thread by @kakape

According to a new update from @WHO, the #Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is now up to 15 confirmed cases plus 23 probable cases.
All of the probable and at least 11 of the 15 confirmed cases have died (3 recovered, fate of one is unknown)

Of the last 5 cases, 4 were reported in Bata district.
„The presence of confirmed cases in Bata increases the risk of disease spread, as it is the most populated city and economic hub of Equatorial Guinea, with an international airport and port.“

Of the four Bata cases, three have an epidemiological link through a family cluster or through health care setting.
„The fourth and most recent case was reported on 7 April; an investigation of this case is ongoing to establish transmission chains…“

It all still sounds pretty bad and there are clearly a lot of things that need to be improved in the response.
As the report notes:
„Equatorial Guinea is facing an outbreak of MVD for the first time and the country's capacity to manage the outbreak needs to be strengthened.“

„Implemented infection prevention and control measures are insufficient…“
„The diagnostic capacity for Marburg virus in the country is limited in terms of the number of samples that can be analyzed per day (a maximum of around 50 a day)“

„The community's perception of risk is estimated to be very low. There are frequent population movements between the different districts of the mainland region, as well as with the island region, despite the quarantine measures implemented in several of the affected areas.„

„Frequent population movements and very porous land borders are also reported in the districts bordering Cameroon and Gabon, with surveillance at land entry points being suboptimal, and countless uncontrolled paths or trails along the border with Cameroon and Gabon.“

„Also, surveillance at the entry points of the international Bata airport or international seaport, is not optimal.“

Full report is here: who.int/emergencies/di…