A human sample in Tanzania has tested positive for deadly Marburg virus, confirming the disease is present in the African country.
Last week, the World Health Organization said it suspected the virus was behind eight deaths in the northwestern Kagera region — a claim Tanzanian officials initially disputed, according to the Associated Press.
Tanzania president Samia Suluhu Hassan announced the positive test on Monday alongside WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“Laboratory tests conducted at Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam, identified one patient as being infected by Marburg virus,” she said at a press conference in the central town of Dodoma. “Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative.”
Tedros said the WHO would work with Tanzania to “bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible.” The organization is supporting the country to monitor, test for and treat the disease, as well as raise awareness among at-risk communities.
What Is Marburg Virus?
Marburg virus is a dangerous pathogen similar to the Ebola virus. It can cause fever, muscle pain, diarrhea and vomiting in humans. Within about a week, it can lead to severe blood loss and ultimately death.
The disease is highly virulent and kills a large proportion of those it infects. Fatality estimates vary between outbreaks from 24% to 88% of people who’ve caught the disease. On average, the fatality rate is about 50%.
How Does Marburg Virus Spread?
Marburg virus is spread by certain fruit bats to humans and other primates. People usually contract the disease after spending time in caves where the bats live. But they can also catch it from infected monkeys. Once infected, humans may pass it to others through their own bodily fluids, but only once they’ve started exhibiting symptoms.
Unlike more contagious diseases like COVID-19, Marburg virus transmission requires direct contact with infected bodily fluid. “Direct contact” means this fluid must touch an open wound or a mucous membrane like those that line the mouth, lips, ears, nose, eyes, eyelids, lungs, stomach, genital areas and anus.
Bedding, clothing and surfaces contaminated with infected bodily fluids can also transmit the disease.
Healthcare workers are at particular risk of catching Marburg virus. Not only are they likely to handle contaminated sheets, surfaces and medical equipment, but they may suffer needle-stick injuries, which are linked to more severe cases of the disease.
What Is The Risk Of Marburg Virus Spreading?
The WHO considers Tanzania and the wider region to be at “high” risk from Marburg virus. Kagera is a transport hub, and some cases are thought to have been detected near the country’s border. Officials are concerned there’s a chance it could spread to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Rwanda declared a separate outbreak “over” last month, having infected at least 66 people and tragically killed 15 between September and November 2024.
The global risk from the disease is considered low. So far, there no international cases have been recorded. Because of the way it spreads, it doesn’t pose the same risk of infection as a disease like COVID-19.
Cases and outbreaks have largely been recorded in Central, Eastern and Southern and Southeast Africa, but some have occurred elsewhere. The first recorded cases of the disease affected researchers in Europe who had imported green monkeys from Uganda.
No-one has ever caught the disease in the U.S., but a tourist who’d visited Uganda for a safari holiday was diagnosed after returning home back in 2008. She did not transmit the virus to anyone else.
