Tanzania confirms outbreak of Marburg virus disease

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Tanzania on Tuesday confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease.

Preliminary tests carried out following the deaths of at least five people in Kagera and Bukoba turned out positive on some of the samples for viral hemorrhagic fever.

Tanzanian health authorities sent samples to the reference laboratory to determine the cause of the disease after an alert by district health officials.

Five deaths and 7 suspected cases with symptoms including fever, fatigue and blood-stained vomit and diarrhoea had been reported.

Advance teams were deployed in the affected districts to trace contacts, isolate and provide medical care to people showing symptoms of the disease.

Efforts were also underway to rapidly mount an emergency response, with WHO deploying health emergency experts in epidemiology, case management, infection prevention, laboratory and risk communication to support the national response efforts and secure community collaboration in the outbreak control.

Marburg virus disease is a highly virulent disease that causes hemorrhagic fever, with a fatality ratio of up to 88%. It is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease.