Tanzania has confirmed that a patient from Kagera region, which borders Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, has tested positive for the Marburg virus disease.
- The highly virulent disease, which belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease, causes haemorrhagic fever.
- Tanzania reported its first outbreak of Marburg in March 2023, in Kagera region, in which a total of nine cases (eight confirmed and one probable) and six deaths were reported, with a case fatality ratio of 67%.
- Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
“We have resolved to reassure the general public in Tanzania and the international community as a whole of our collective determination to address the global health challenges, including the Marburg virus disease,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Monday.
A total of 25 suspected cases, all in districts within Kagera, have been reported as of 20 January 2025, all of whom have tested negative and are currently under close follow-up, the president added.
“WHO, working with its partners, is committed to supporting the government of Tanzania to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer future for all the people of Tanzania,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was present in Dodoma during the announcement, said.
On January 13th, the WHO raised the alarm that at least eight people had died in the northwestern region.
“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,” WHO said in an alert at the time, “Reportedly, some of the suspected cases are in districts near international borders, highlighting the potential for spread into neighbouring countries.”
