In July 2022, Ghana confirmed its first two cases of the deadly Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola.

It’s been around for 55 years, but what do we know about it?

Marburg virus causes the Marburg virus disease, formerly known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever.

The virus, which belongs to the same family as the Ebola virus, causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever in humans, with an average case fatality rate of around 50%. It has varied between 24% to 88% in different outbreaks depending on virus strain and case management.