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Tanzania has rejected a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) of a suspected new outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in the northwest of the country.
On Tuesday, the world health agency said a total of nine suspected cases were reported in the past five days in the Kagera region, including eight deaths.
But in a statement, Tanzania’s Health Minister Jenista Mhagama said after testing the samples, all the suspected cases had tested negative for the Marburg virus.
He said the country had strengthened surveillance systems and disease monitoring.
“We want to inform international organizations, including the WHO, that we will keep them informed of ongoing developments,” said Mhagama.
Tanzania had its first Marburg outbreak in March 2023 in Bukoba district. It killed six people and lasted almost two months.
The highly infectious disease is similar to Ebola, with symptoms including fever, muscle aches, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death from extreme blood loss.
On Wednesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of “more cases in the coming days as disease surveillance improves” in the latest suspected outbreak in Tanzania.
The WHO reported that patients, including health workers, were being identified and monitored.
He added that the country’s rapid response teams had been deployed to help identify suspected cases and contain the outbreak.
The WHO warned that the risk of the suspected virus spreading in the region remains “high” because Kagera was a transit hub with many cross-border movements to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.
“At this time we do not recommend any travel or trade restrictions with Tanzania,” Dr Tedros said in X.
The WHO said the global risk posed by the outbreak was “low” and there was no concern at this stage of the disease spreading internationally.
Following the reports, a team of experts was immediately deployed to the Kagera region, where the samples were collected, Tanzania’s Health Minister said.
He said laboratory results ruled out the suspected Marburg outbreak, but the minister did not clarify the total number of suspected cases investigated.
In December, neighboring Rwanda declared the end of an outbreak in the country that infected 66 people and killed 15.
On average, Marburg virus kills half of the people it infectsAccording to the MOE.
Marburg virus is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and then by contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine for the virus, although trials are underway.
