The source of the outbreak is still unknown and additional cases are expected, health officials said.
ADVERTISEMENTAt least eight people in Tanzania have died in an outbreak of the highly lethal Marburg virus, according to global health officials.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the Ebola-like virus was identified in the Biharamulo and Muleba districts, which are in the Kagera region of the Eastern African country.
As of January 11, there were nine suspected Marburg cases, including several healthcare workers, with a case fatality rate of 89 per cent.
The source of the outbreak is not yet known.
“We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post.
Officials are waiting on lab results to confirm the diagnoses, but the patients had typical Marburg symptoms, including headache, high fever, back pain, diarrhoea, vomiting with blood, physical weakness, and later on, external haemorrhaging, the WHO said.
The virus mainly spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of a sick person or surfaces that have been contaminated with those fluids, meaning healthcare workers tend to be at higher risk.
No vaccine or treatment has been authorised for Marburg, though several are being tested.
Health authorities believe the virus may have spread beyond the Biharamulo and Muleba districts.
The Kagera region is a transit hub, and the detection and isolation of infected people has been “delayed,” the WHO said.
Neighbouring countries should be ‘on alert’
The risk of infection is currently high in Tanzania and the broader region – including Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – but low globally, according to the agency.
“We recommend neighbouring countries be on alert and prepared to manage potential cases,” Tedros said.
The agency said rapid response teams were sent to the area to help investigate and respond to the outbreak. Authorities are also tracking down contacts of sick people and setting up treatment centres.
Outbreaks of Marburg virus are relatively rare but serious. The case fatality rate typically ranges from 24 per cent to 88 per cent.
The last known outbreak was in Rwanda, where Marburg killed 15 people and sickened 66 last year. In December, health authorities declared the outbreak over after no new cases were reported for 42 days.
ADVERTISEMENTIn 2023, another Marburg outbreak in Tanzania’s Kagera region – which borders Rwanda – lasted nearly two months, with nine cases and six deaths.
“Zoonotic reservoirs, such as fruit bats, remain endemic to the area,” the WHO said.
