Ghana reports two suspected cases of Marburg virus, what is it?

Ghana has reported two suspected cases of the Marburg virus, which belongs to the same family as Ebola, in the country's southern Ashanti region, health authorities said on Friday.

No treatment or vaccine exists for Marburg, which is somewhat less deadly than Ebola, with symptoms including high fever and internal and external bleeding.

Preliminary findings from blood samples for the two cases suggest Marburg virus and the samples have been sent to the Institut Pasteur de Dakar research centre in Senegal for confirmation, Ghana Health Service said.

"No new cases have been reported since the two samples were taken two weeks ago," it said in a statement.

Another 34 people who had contact with the cases have been identified and are currently in quarantine, it said.

The World Health Organisation said if confirmed it would be the first case of Marburg in Ghana.

"Preparations for a possible outbreak response are being set up swiftly as further investigations are underway," it said.

The WHO said Guinea confirmed a single case in an outbreak that was declared over in September 2021.

Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases of Marburg in Africa have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, WHO said.