Claiming thousands of lives every year, maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) is a devastating disease caused by toxins released from Clostridium tetani bacteria. With no cure, MNT is responsible for an average 110,000 deaths a year in the African Region. Once contracted, the newborn usually dies within seven days.

However, MNT is entirely preventable through appropriate immunization of women of child bearing age, and through simple and basic precautionary measures in child delivery.

Marburg haemorrhagic fever (MHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever and a virus from the same family as the one that causes Ebola haemorrhagic fever. These viruses are among the most virulent pathogens known to infect humans. Both diseases are rare, but have a capacity to cause dramatic outbreaks with high fatality rates.

Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly, with severe headache and severe malaise. Many patients develop severe haemorrhagic manifestations between 5 and 7 days, and fatal cases usually have some form of bleeding, often from multiple sites.