Angola - Emergency Humanitarian Aid for the fight against Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever

Marburg hemorrhagic fever is a serious disease associated with a very high case fatality rate. There is no vaccine or appropriate treatment for this viral disease. Despite several years of extensive investigations with tests on hundreds of animals and insects, researchers have not been able to identify an animal reservoir or environmental source. The first cases of Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Uige Province date back to October 2004, however confirmation of Marburg virus infection by laboratory tests was not made until March 2005. Due to this situation, case reporting was not reported by the health authorities of Uige Province until April 2005. The first cases of the disease were registered in the city of Uige, the capital of the Province. The epidemic then spread to the entire Province located 300 km from Luanda, and then, due to the mobility of the population, to those of Luanda, Cabinda, Kwanza Norte and Kwanza Sul. The Angolan epidemic outbreak is the second observed after that of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the African populations since the Marburg virus was detected in 1967 and it is the most important in terms of high morbidity and mortality and the fact that it is the first to occur in an urban environment.