Tanzania’s government has stated that no one in the country has tested positive for the Marburg virus, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that at least eight individuals in the northwest are suspected to have died from it.
The country’s health minister, Jenista Mhagama said in a statement that “As of January 15, laboratory results for all suspected individuals were negative for Marburg virus.”
The WHO on Tuesday said it had received reliable reports of suspected cases of Marburg virus in the region of Kagera on January 10.
Also read: https://www.tvcnews.tv/2025/01/marburg-who-confirms-outbreak-of-suspected-virus-in-tanzania/
Victims had presented with typical Marburg symptoms, including headache, high fever, back pain, diarrhoea, vomiting blood, muscle weakness and external bleeding.
The viral haemorrhagic fever has a fatality rate of up to 88% and is from the same virus family as the one that causes Ebola, which is transmitted to humans by fruit bats found in East Africa.
Mhagama stated that the ministry took fast action after obtaining information on suspected cases. This included sending a team of experts to the region, conducting an event investigation, collecting specimens, and doing laboratory tests.
At a virtual press conference from Geneva on Thursday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tanzania should “send the samples it has collected to international reference laboratories and to collect additional samples in accordance with normal procedure”.
WHO is supporting the Tanzanian government and is ready to provide additional help if needed, he added.
Tanzania saw its first Marburg outbreak in 2023, with nine cases and six deaths in the same area.
In the statement, the minister stated that Tanzania “strengthened disease surveillance systems” in response to the outbreak reports.
Tanzania was chastised during the Covid-19 outbreak for failing to share infection data and disregarding preventive measures.
