Ghana has confirmed the first two cases of the infectious Marburg virus disease, the World Health Organization said in a statement yesterday. This happened after two unrelated patients who died later were confirmed infected in the Ashanti region of southern Ghana. This is stated in a message published by CNN.

The World Health Organization indicated that patients were experiencing symptoms including diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting, adding that more than 90 contacts are currently being monitored.

Marburg disease is a highly contagious viral hemorrhagic fever and the virus belongs to the same family of known Ebola viruses, with a mortality rate of 88%, according to the World Health Organization.

Marburg virus is transmitted to humans by bats and spreads between humans through direct contact with body fluids, surfaces, and contaminated materials from infected individuals.

This zoonotic disease has only been detected for the second time in West Africa.

Although there are no approved vaccines or antiviral drugs to treat the disease, treating the symptoms, including managing dehydration, increases the chance of survival.