#outbreak-response

#outbreak-response

Three weeks passed between the death of one passenger on 11 April and the linkage to hantavirus on 2 May. In that time, passengers onboard the MV Hondius continued their itinerary, having been advised that the man had probably died of natural causes. They toured remote islands and ate together at the same tables. More than 30 passengers disembarked at St Helena and flew in different directions.

The hospital admitted to the BBC it had missed an opportunity to alert the UKHSA sooner. It said it had waited until there was a formal diagnosis via a confirmed test.

The effort in Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries and badly hit by the aid cuts, has seen an astonishing 1.3 million children already vaccinated against the disease in just four days after emergency supplies were airlifted in by the World Health Organization (WHO) just over a week ago. Malawi declared the outbreak after the virus was detected in two environmental samples taken from two sewage plants in Blantyre, the country's second-largest city and where the only known victim lives.

Marburg virus disease (MVD) has been confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory (in Ethiopia), Africa CDC said on Saturday. Further epidemiological investigations and laboratory analyses are under way and the virus strain detected shows similarities to those previously identified in east Africa. It said Ethiopian health authorities had acted swiftly to confirm and contain the outbreak in the Jinka area.

Over the past three years, cases have more than doubled, with over 230,000 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths so far this year on the continent. Those cases are spread across 23 countries, up from 15 affected countries in 2022, according to Africa CDC. It's a disease that is easily treatable yet deadly. It can kill someone in a matter of hours if good medical care is not provided promptly.