Tanzania has denied a World Health Organization report suspecting a new outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in the northwest of the country.
The World Health Agency said on Tuesday that a total of nine suspected cases had been reported over the past five days in the Kagera region, including eight deaths.
But Tanzanian Health Minister Jenista Mahagama said in a statement that after analyzing the samples, all suspected cases were found to be negative for the Marburg virus.
She said the country has strengthened its surveillance and disease surveillance systems.
“We would like to assure international organizations, including the World Health Organization, that we will always keep them informed of current developments,” Magama said.
Tanzania witnessed its first outbreak of Marburg virus in March 2023 in Bukoba District. It led to the death of six people and lasted for nearly two months.
This highly contagious disease is similar to Ebola, and symptoms include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and, in some cases, death from severe blood loss.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Wednesday of “more cases in the coming days as disease surveillance improves” in the latest suspected outbreak in Tanzania.
The World Health Organization reported that patients, including health care workers, have been identified and are being monitored.
She added that rapid response teams have been deployed in the country to help identify suspected cases and contain the outbreak.
The World Health Organization warned that the risk of the suspected virus spreading in the region remained “high” because Kagera was a transit hub with a lot of cross-border movement into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.
“We do not recommend restrictions on travel or trade with Tanzania at this time,” Dr Tedros said on Channel X.
The World Health Organization said the global risk posed by the outbreak is “low,” and there are no concerns at this stage about the disease spreading internationally.
The Tanzanian Health Minister said that following the reports, a team of experts was immediately deployed to the Kagera region, where they collected samples.
She said laboratory results ruled out a suspected Marburg virus outbreak, but the minister did not clarify the total number of suspected cases investigated.
In December, neighboring Rwanda declared the end of the outbreak in the country, which had infected 66 people and killed 15 others.
On average, The Marburg virus kills half of the people it infectsaccording to the World Health Organization.
Marburg virus is transmitted to humans from fruit bats and then through contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals.
There are no specific treatments or vaccine for the virus, although trials are ongoing.
