The first cases of the deadly Marburg virus have been confirmed in Ghana after two people died, health officials announced on Sunday.
According to the World Health Organization, tests were conducted on the two infected people in Ghana and returned a positive result on July 10, but needed to be verified by a lab in Senegal for the cases to be confirmed.Â
The highly infectious disease is similar to Ebola and currently has no cure. The fatality rate is up to nearly 90% for those who have been infected by the virus.
Marburg was first discovered in Europe in 1967. The diseases is often transmitted by fruit bats, but can spread from human contact through blood and saliva.
The recent confirmed cases are the second outbreak of Marburg in West Africa; the virus was detected in Guinea last year.
More about the deadly virus can be find here.
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