President Samia Suluhu Hassan has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Tanzania’s northwest Kagera region, with one case identified so far.
“Laboratory tests conducted at Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera, later confirmed in Dar es Salaam, have verified one patient as infected with the Marburg virus,” the president announced during a press briefing in Dodoma. The event was attended by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
This confirmation follows conflicting statements last week when Tanzania’s health minister denied any outbreak, despite WHO reports linking eight deaths in the area to suspected cases of the virus earlier this month. The deceased exhibited classic Marburg symptoms, including severe headache, fever, vomiting blood, and external bleeding.
Marburg virus, a hemorrhagic fever with fatality rates up to 88%, belongs to the same family as the Ebola virus and is transmitted to humans from fruit bats native to East Africa.
President Hassan reassured the public, stating that the government had mobilized a rapid response team to trace contacts and contain the virus. So far, 25 suspected cases have tested negative.
To bolster containment efforts, the WHO has pledged $3 million from its emergency contingency fund.
This marks the second Marburg outbreak in Kagera within two years; the 2023 outbreak resulted in nine cases and six deaths.
“The government’s investments in response to the last outbreak have strengthened our capacity to address such challenges,” said Tedros, expressing optimism about Tanzania’s ability to control the situation swiftly.
