By Antynet Ford
Tanzania has confirmed an outbreak of the Marburg virus in the Kagera region.
This is after one person was confirmed positive for the virus after a laboratory analysis of a suspected case.
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu announced during a press briefing alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.
“Laboratory tests 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,” she added.
The president stated that a total of 25 suspected cases have been reported since January all of whom tested negative and are currently under close follow-up.
All the cases were reported in the Biharamulo and Muleba districts in Kagera.
“We have resolved to reassure the general public in Tanzania and the international community as a whole of our collective determination to address the global health challenges, including the Marburg virus disease,” She said.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has assured Tanzania of support to enhance key outbreak control measures including disease surveillance, testing, treatment, infection prevention and control, case management, 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,” Tedros said.
“He called for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in the region.
This comes a week after Tanzania’s Health Minister Jenista Mhagama a statement denying Marburg cases.
Mhagama said the tests conducted as of January 15 were all negative.
This was after the World Health Organization put Kenya and five other countries on high alert over Marburg disease after claims of the death of eight people in the Kagera region.
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes hemorrhagic fever.
It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease.
Illness caused by the Marburg virus begins abruptly.
Patients present with high fever, severe headache, and severe malaise.
They may develop severe hemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
“The declaration by the president and the measures being taken by the government are crucial in addressing the threat of this disease at the local and national levels as well as preventing potential cross-border spread,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Our priority is to support the government to rapidly scale up measures to effectively respond to this outbreak and safeguard the health of the population,”
Tanzania previously reported an outbreak of Marburg in March 2023 – the country’s first – in Kagera region, in which a total of nine cases (eight confirmed and one probable) and six deaths were reported, with a case fatality ratio of 67%.
In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Although several promising candidate medical countermeasures are currently undergoing clinical trials, there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for effective management or prevention of Marburg virus disease. However, early access to treatment and supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improve survival
