An outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania, according to the World Health Organization’s statement on Wednesday.
“We are aware of 9 cases so far, including 8 people who have died,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves.”
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces such as contaminated bed sheets.
Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease without treatment. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and in some cases death from extreme blood loss. There is no authorised vaccine or treatment for Marburg.
According to WHO, its risk assessment for the suspected outbreak in Tanzania is high at national and regional levels but low globally. There was, however, no immediate comment from Tanzanian health authorities.
Meanwhile, the outbreak of Marburg in Rwanda, first reported on Sept. 27, was declared over on Dec. 20. Rwandan officials reported a total of 15 deaths and 66 cases, with the majority of those affected being healthcare workers who handled the first patients.
