Tanzania’s president has confirmed the 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 briefing alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.
It was after WHO first reported a suspected outbreak of the virus that is believed to have killed eight people in the Kagera region.
“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.”
The president said a total of 25 suspected cases of the virus have been reported as of 20 January, all of whom have tested negative and are under close surveillance, she said.
All cases have been reported in Biharamulo district in Kagera, she added.
Tanzanian health authorities initially objected to WHO suspecting cases of Marburg virus in the country after it quickly spread through neighbouring Rwanda, which declared its own outbreak of the disease was over last month.
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.
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.
“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 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.
