New Virus Called Marburg In Africa - WHO Director-General

Last Friday, the Ministry of Health of Guinea informed WHO of a case of Marburg virus disease in the country’s south-west, in a man who died 8 days after onset of symptoms. This is the first known case of Marburg in West Africa. There is no licensed vaccine for Marburg, although there are vaccines under development, and WHO is working with our partners to seek opportunities to assess them during this outbreak through the R&D Blueprint for Epidemics. 

In October, WHO reported results of the Solidarity Trial, which tested four treatments for COVID-19, involving almost 13,000 patients in 500 hospitals, in 30 countries. Today we are pleased to announce the next phase in the Solidarity trial, called Solidarity PLUS.  

Solidarity PLUS will test three drugs: artesunate, a treatment for severe malaria; imatinib, a drug for certain cancers; and infliximab, a treatment for immune system disorders such as Crohn’s disease. The trial involves thousands of researchers at more than 600 hospitals in 52 countries.  

I would like to thank the governments, hospitals, researchers and patients who are participating in the trial, as well as the three manufacturers who have donated the drugs for the trial: Ipca, Novartis and Johnson & Johnson.

Part of West Africa

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