Ghana has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of the highly infectious Marburg virus, a rare Ebola-like disease, according to the World Health Organization.

 On Sunday, WHO announced that two unrelated people from the southern Ashanti region died after testing positive for Marburg virus. The disease was confirmed through lab tests from a medical center in Ghana. 

The first patient, a 26-year-old male, checked into a local hospital on June 26 and died on June 27. The second patient, a 51-year-old male, checked into the hospital on June 28 and reportedly died on the same day.

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WHO said in a release that it will be working directly with local health officials to alert and educate the community about the disease as well as deploy experts to provide infection prevention measures. 

"Health authorities have responded swiftly, getting a head start preparing for a possible outbreak," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. "This is good because without immediate and decisive action, Marburg can easily get out of hand. WHO is on the ground supporting health authorities and now that the outbreak is declared, we are marshalling more resources for the response." 

Marburg is not typically seen in the U.S., but health officials say international travel can lead to additional outbreaks.

Here's what to know about the rare virus.

What is Marburg virus?

Marburg virus disease, formerly known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever, was first identified in 1967 following two large outbreaks that simultaneously occurred in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Belgrade, Serbia, according to WHO.