Tanzanian sample confirms WHO fears as Marburg disease detected in remote area

Tanzania’s president said a sample taken from a remote northern region of the country tested positive for Marburg disease, a highly contagious virus that can be fatal in more than 88% of cases without treatment.

ARUSHA, Tanzania — Tanzania’s president said Monday that a sample taken in a remote area of ​​northern Tanzania tested positive for Marburg disease, a highly contagious virus that can be fatal in 88% of cases without treatment.

President Samia Suluhu spoke in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital, alongside World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The WHO was the first to report a suspected outbreak in Marburg on January 14 that killed eight people in the Kagera region of Tanzania. Tanzanian health officials disputed this information hours later, saying tests of samples had returned negative results.

Suluhu said on Monday that additional testing had confirmed a case in Marburg. Twenty-five other samples tested negative, she said.

Like Ebola, Marburg virus originates from fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces such as contaminated linens.

Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death from significant blood loss. There are no vaccines or approved treatments for Marburg.