Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) trajectory and (b) potential risks of the Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea; and what steps his Department is taking to support the response to that outbreak.

On 13 February, Equatorial Guinea confirmed its first outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD). We assess that MVD is a serious, disruptive, socially threatening and often deadly disease. The risk of wider spread will depend on a number of factors and should be managed similarly to Ebola. We are in touch with international partners and are monitoring the effectiveness of the response by local authorities and the World Health Organisation.