January 15, 2025
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In Tanzania, there are nine suspected cases of Marburg virus infection and eight deaths. The WHO classifies cases as having a high risk of local spread based on the location of the outbreak.
According to the WHO, nine cases of suspected Marburg virus infection and eight deaths have been reported in Tanzania.
If confirmed, it would be the second outbreak of Marburg virus in the country since 2023.
The WHO classifies cases as having a high risk of community transmission based on the location of the outbreak, the WHO said. The Kagera region is a strategic transit point for travel to Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Neighboring Rwanda declared its first outbreak of Marburg virus last year.
WHO also classified the risk of national spread in Tanzania as high, but said the global risk was low.
“The suspected cases include healthcare workers, highlighting the risk of nosocomial infection. The source of the outbreak is unknown at this time,” authorities said.
WHO announced that it received reports of nine suspected cases of Marburg infection in the Kagera region on January 10 and January 11. Eight people have already died, making the case fatality rate 89%.
Samples taken from the two patients are being tested at the country's National Public Health Laboratory, but contact tracing indicates that people, including health workers, may have been exposed to the virus in Kagera 2 district, and the progress remains unclear. It turned out that he was under observation.
WHO said Tanzania's Kagera region is “well connected” through transport networks, including air links, and stressed the need to strengthen monitoring and coordination with border countries.
“As disease surveillance improves, we expect further cases to emerge in the coming days,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, MD, said in a post about X.
Marburg virus, which belongs to the same family as the Ebola virus, has caused outbreaks across sub-Saharan Africa since it was first identified in 1967. The first major outbreaks in West Africa since 2021 occurred in Guinea in 2021 and in Ghana in 2021. in 2022 and Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania in 2023.
The 2024 Rwanda outbreak resulted in 66 cases and 15 deaths from September to December. The last confirmed case tested negative in early November, and the outbreak was declared over in late December, according to the CDC.
There is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Marburg virus, but several vaccines have reached human clinical trials.
The WHO noted that the outbreak could be an opportunity to test the safety and effectiveness of vaccines against rare and serious diseases such as Marburg disease, which cannot be tested using traditional methods. During the Marburg virus outbreak, thousands of doses of the experimental Marburg virus vaccine were sent to Rwanda.
“We advise neighboring countries to be vigilant and be prepared to deal with potential cases,” Tedros said, adding that the WHO “does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions to Tanzania at this time.” added.
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