Tanzanian authorities confirmed Monday that one sample from the Kagera region tested positive for Marburg virus, a highly contagious disease with a fatality rate of up to 88% if untreated.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced the results in Dodoma, the capital, alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
WHO first reported a suspected Marburg outbreak on January 14, linked to eight deaths in the remote Kagera region. Tanzanian health officials initially disputed the report, citing earlier negative test results.
Hassan said further testing confirmed one positive case of Marburg, while 25 additional samples tested negative.
Marburg virus, which originates in fruit bats, is transmitted between humans through contact with bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces. Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and, in severe cases, death from blood loss. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the disease.
This marks the second Marburg outbreak in Kagera since 2023 and comes just one month after neighboring Rwanda declared its outbreak over. Rwanda reported 15 deaths and 66 cases in its outbreak, most of them among health care workers treating early cases.
Health officials in Tanzania, in coordination with WHO, are implementing containment measures and increasing public awareness to prevent the virus’s spread.
