The Tanzanian government has denied reports by the World Health Organsation (WHO) of a suspected new outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in the northwestern Kagera region, insisting that all tested samples returned negative results.
WHO had on Tuesday raised an alert, stating that nine suspected cases had been reported in Kagera over the past five days, with eight fatalities.
However, Tanzania’s Health Minister, Jenista Mhagama, dismissed the claim, assuring both the public and international health bodies that no new outbreak had been detected.
“After samples were analysed, all suspected cases were found negative for Marburg virus,” Mhagama said in a statement, adding that the country had reinforced its disease surveillance and monitoring systems.
She also reassured global health agencies of Tanzania’s commitment to transparency. “We would like to assure the international organisations, including WHO, that we shall always keep them up to date with ongoing developments,” she said.
Despite Tanzania’s dismissal, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Wednesday that more cases could emerge.
“We expect further cases in the coming days as disease surveillance improves,” he said.
WHO reported that healthcare workers and other individuals suspected of exposure to the virus were under close monitoring. Rapid response teams had also been deployed to identify potential cases and contain the outbreak.
Although WHO acknowledged that the global risk posed by the outbreak remained “low,” it cautioned that the regional risk was “high” due to Kagera’s status as a transit hub with significant cross-border movement to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda.
“We do not recommend travel or trade restrictions with Tanzania at this time,” Dr. Tedros stated on X (formerly Twitter).
Tanzania experienced its first Marburg virus outbreak in March 2023 in the Bukoba district, which resulted in six deaths and lasted nearly two months.
The virus, which is highly infectious and similar to Ebola, causes symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and, in severe cases, fatal blood loss. On average, Marburg kills about half of those infected, according to WHO data.
The disease is transmitted from fruit bats to humans and then spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals.
Currently, there are no approved vaccines or specific treatments for Marburg, though medical trials are ongoing.
In December, Rwanda declared the end of a Marburg outbreak that had infected 66 people and claimed 15 lives.
Following the WHO’s alert, Tanzanian health officials deployed experts to Kagera to conduct further investigations and specimen collection.
However, while Minister Mhagama confirmed that laboratory tests ruled out a new Marburg outbreak, she did not specify the total number of suspected cases that were examined.
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