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WHO: Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills Eight in Tanzania
(Image: CDC)
WHO received reliable reports from in-country sources regarding suspected cases of MVD in the Kagera region of the United Republic of Tanzania. Six people were reported to have been affected, five of whom had died. The cases presented with similar symptoms of headache, high fever, back pain, diarrhoea, haematemesis (vomiting with blood), malaise (body weakness) and, at a later stage of disease, external hemorrhage (bleeding from orifices).
Nine suspected cases were reported including eight deaths (case fatality ratio (CFR) of 89%) across two districts – Biharamulo and Muleba-- in the NW corner of Tanzania.
The regional risk is considered HIGH due to Kagera region's strategic location as a transit hub, with significant cross-border movement of the population to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Republic of Rwanda has confirmed more than 60 cases of Marburg virus disease primarily associated with hospitals in Kigali, including some deaths. This is the country's first Marburg outbreak.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets.
The global risk is currently assessed as LOW.
The suspected culprit, the Egyptian rousette fruit bat. (Photo: Kim Taylor)
Sources:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON552
https://www.cdc.gov/marburg/situation-summary/index.html