The World Health Organization (WHO) had issued a health alert on Tuesday, indicating that nine suspected cases of Marburg virus disease had been reported over the past five days in the Kagera region, with at least eight people having died.
The global health agency, citing reliable information from local sources, noted that the cases were reported in the districts of Biharamulo and Muleba, where symptoms such as high fever, vomiting with blood, and severe weakness were observed in the affected patients.
However, Tanzania's Health Minister, Jenista Mhagama, announced on Wednesday that after laboratory tests, all samples from the suspected cases had returned negative for the Marburg virus.
She reassured the international community that the country had strengthened its disease surveillance systems and monitoring efforts, emphasizing that authorities would continue to keep WHO and other global organizations updated on any developments.
"We would like to assure the international organisations, including WHO, that we shall always keep them up to date with ongoing developments," Mhagama stated in a statement.
Tanzania experienced its first Marburg outbreak in March 2023 in the Bukoba district in the Kagera region. It killed six people and lasted for nearly two months.
The Kagera region is known to harbour zoonotic reservoirs, such as fruit bats, which are natural hosts of the Marburg virus.
WHO had assessed the national risk level as high due to the outbreak's high case-fatality ratio (CFR) of 89%, its geographic spread across two districts, and the involvement of healthcare workers among the suspected cases.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
Source : https://en.igihe.com/health/article/tanzania-says-no-marburg-virus-cases-detected-in-the-country
