Tanzania’s president has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus disease (MVD), a highly infectious virus like Ebola that can be fatal in up to 88 per cent of cases without treatment.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan confirmed a positive case in the northwestern Kagera region during a press conference alongside Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) director general, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.
The announcement came after the WHO first reported a suspected outbreak of the virus that was believed to have killed eight people in the Kagera region.
The president said a total of 25 suspected cases of the virus have been reported as of 20 January, all of whom have since tested negative and are under close surveillance.
“Laboratory tests conducted at Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one patient as being infected with the Marburg virus. Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative,” the president said.
“We have demonstrated in the past our ability to contain a similar outbreak and are determined to do the same this time around.”
All cases have been reported in Biharamulo district in Kagera, she added.
Tanzanian health authorities initially objected to the WHO saying it suspected a Marburg virus outbreak in the country after it quickly spread through neighbouring Rwanda, which last month declared its own outbreak was over.
Rwanda reported 15 deaths and 66 cases in the outbreak first declared on 27 September, with healthcare workers who handled the first patients the majority of those affected.
The WHO said it is supporting Tanzanian health authorities to enhance key outbreak control measures as well as increasing public awareness among communities to prevent further spread of the virus.
“The WHO, working with its partners, is committed to supporting the government of Tanzania to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer future for all the people of Tanzania,” said Dr Tedros.
“Now is a time for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in Tanzania, and the region, from the risks posed by this disease.”
Marburg virus, like Ebola, transmits to people from fruit bats and spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces, and materials.
Its symptoms which begin abruptly are high fever, severe headache, severe malaise, muscle aches as well as severe watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and cramping. Nausea and vomiting can begin on the third day.
In fatal cases, death of the infected person occurs most often between 8 and 9 days after symptom onset, usually preceded by severe blood loss and shock, according to the WHO.
This is the second outbreak of the virus in Tanzania’s Kagera region since 2023. A total of nine suspected cases were reported with six deaths in the region.
