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Highlights
The Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) outbreak was declared on 13 February 2023 by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Equatorial Guinea, being the first ever of its kind in the country. From the outbreak declaration until 7 June 2023, 17 confirmed and 23 probable cases were reported in the continental region of Equatorial Guinea. Twelve of the confirmed cases died and all of the probable cases were reported deaths (the case fatality ratio among confirmed cases is 75%, excluding one confirmed case with an unknown outcome).
The last confirmed case admitted to a Marburg treatment center in Bata district in Litoral province was discharged on 26 April, after two consecutive negative PCR tests for MVD. On 8 June 2023, after 115 days of the unset and two consecutive incubation periods (42 days) without a new confirmed cases reported, the Ministry of Health of Equatorial Guinea declared the end of the outbreak.
Five districts in four of Equatorial Guinea’s eight provinces were affected. Bata district in the western Litoral province was worst-hit, with 11 laboratory-confirmed cases reported. Among the reported cases, many were closely linked either through social gatherings and networks, or geographically.
On the other hand, on 30 March 2023, WHO assessed the public health risk posed by this outbreak as very high at the national level, high at sub-regional level, moderate at the regional level and low at the global level. Cameroon and Gabon country offices activated risk control mechanisms, considering the high risk resulting from frequent population movements and very porous land borders in the districts bordering Cameroon and Gabon, with suboptimal surveillance at land entry points, and countless uncontrolled paths or trails along the border with Cameroon and Gabon. No cases were reported in these two countries.
UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government of Equatorial Guinea, WHO, and other partners provided support throughout the response for the implementation of the response plan under risk communications, infection prevention and control, WASH, MHPSS and PSEA, and will continue to support national effort.
Throughout the outbreak response, UNICEF supported continuous capacity building in IPC/WASH general MVD clinical management approach, safe burial, adequate management of corpses and postmortem sampling, RCCE, MHPSS and PSEA areas. More than 1,800 people benefitted from the different training and capacity building interventions. Trainees included health workers and morgue managers, social workers, community health workers, traditional healers, mobilizer communicators, focal points of 7 pillars, UN staff, and civil society key stakeholders.