Tanzania Confirms Single Marburg Virus Death After Initial Denial

The government reports one fatal case in Kagera, with 25 suspected cases testing negative, as WHO praises swift containment efforts.

Tanzania has confirmed one death from the Marburg virus in the Kagera region, following initial denials of an outbreak by the government.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had earlier reported nine suspected cases, with eight fatalities, but Tanzania's tests found only one confirmed case among 25 suspected instances.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan credited the country's rapid response, informed by experience from a 2023 outbreak in the same region that claimed six lives.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended Tanzania’s swift containment measures, emphasizing the absence of a vaccine or treatment for the deadly virus.
The Marburg virus, often transmitted by fruit bats, spreads through contact with bodily fluids of symptomatic patients and has an incubation period of 2 to 21 days.