ARUSHA, Tanzania – Tanzania’s president confirmed Monday that a sample from the country’s northern region has tested positive for Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease with a mortality rate potentially reaching 88% without intervention.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan made the announcement alongside World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Dodoma, Tanzania’s capital. The announcement follows reports of a suspected outbreak in the Kagera region, where at least eight fatalities were initially reported by health officials last month.
The World Health Organization first alerted to the possibility of a Marburg outbreak on January 14. However, initial tests surprisingly returned negative results, leaving the situation uncertain until further testing confirmed the presence of the virus.
According to President Hassan, extensive testing was conducted, with only one positive result emerging from 26 samples. This confirmation is particularly concerning as Marburg shares similarities with the Ebola virus, originating from fruit bats and spreading among humans through exposure to infected bodily fluids or unclean surfaces.
Marburg symptoms range from fevers and muscle pain to diarrhea, vomiting, and, in severe cases, fatal hemorrhaging. Currently, no vaccine or specific treatment for Marburg is available, which heightens the urgency of addressing the outbreak.
This marks the second Marburg outbreak in Tanzania’s Kagera region since 2023, raising alarms given its proximity to Rwanda.
Just a month ago, Rwanda declared its own outbreak of the disease over, after recording 66 cases and 15 fatalities since late September. Health care workers, often first in line to provide care, were significantly impacted during Rwanda’s outbreak.
As health authorities respond to the situation, the risk of disease transmission persists, highlighting the need for vigilant preventive measures and global cooperation in disease monitoring and response efforts.
Shortly after the jabs rolled out a UK DR. said it was causing Marburg Disease and it was of course ignored and swept under the rug along with all the other side affects including all the deaths . So not surprised about this story .