Tanzania has confirmed a new case of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region, following 25 negative tests. Dozens of individuals remain under observation as the government works to contain the outbreak.

If the idea of a Marburg virus outbreak doesn’t send shivers down your spine, you might not know just how dangerous it can be. Belonging to the same family as Ebola, Marburg is even deadlier. It has a mortality rate averaging around 50%, though past outbreaks have reached up to 88%. There is no vaccine, no cure, and treatment options are limited to palliative care, relying on the body’s ability to combat the infection.

The Marburg Virus

Early symptoms include high fever and severe headaches, progressing rapidly to severe hemorrhagic symptoms. It is transmitted to humans from fruit bats and spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated surfaces. The virus was first identified in 1967 in Marburg, Germany after laboratory workers fell ill while handling African monkeys.

Health authorities are understandably alarmed every time a Marburg outbreak occurs. Fortunately, the high fatality rate often limits its spread, as severely ill patients are less likely to infect others. However, experts remain concerned about the possibility of mutations. These could make the virus more transmissible, even if slightly less deadly — a scenario reminiscent of SARS-CoV-2.

While only one case of Marburg has been confirmed in the current outbreak, eight deaths have been reported in the region, with the cause yet to be disclosed.

“Laboratory tests conducted at Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one patient as being infected with the Marburg virus. Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative,” the president of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, said in a statement. “We have demonstrated in the past our ability to contain a similar outbreak and are determined to do the same this time around.” 

Tanzania experienced its first Marburg outbreak in March 2023 in the Bukoba district. That outbreak killed six people and lasted for nearly two months but was ultimately contained.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma. The WHO is working with Tanzanian authorities to help contain this outbreak.

“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,” said Dr Tedros. “Now is a time for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in Tanzania, and the region, from the risks posed by this disease.”