WHO Reports Marburg Virus Cases, Killing 8 People in This Country

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Jakarta – The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a suspected new outbreak of the Marburg virus in northwestern Tanzania. Nine people are suspected to be infected, eight of whom have died.

This deadly virus has a mortality rate of up to 88 percent and belongs to the same family of viruses that causes Ebola. It is transmitted to humans from fruit bats, which are endemic to East Africa.

WHO stated it received credible reports of suspected cases in Tanzania’s Kagera region on January 10. Patients experienced symptoms including headaches, high fever, back pain, diarrhea, vomiting blood, muscle weakness, and death due to significant blood loss.

“We expect further cases in the coming days as disease surveillance increases,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X, as quoted by the BBC.

Patient contacts, including healthcare workers, have been identified and are under further monitoring. The country’s rapid response team has also been deployed to help identify suspected cases and contain the outbreak.

WHO warned that the risk of virus spread in the region remains high as Kagera, Tanzania, serves as a transit hub with significant cross-border movement to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda.

However, WHO stated that the global risk posed by this outbreak is low, with no concerns about international disease transmission.

Tanzania previously experienced its first Marburg outbreak in March 2023 in the Bukoba district. The outbreak killed about six people and lasted nearly two months. Meanwhile, Tanzanian authorities have not yet confirmed the current suspected outbreak.

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