Marburg’s fever frequently results in hemorrhage and organ failure, and its death rate can approach 90%.
Eight people have been murdered by a suspected outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Tanzania, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which also warned that there was a “high” chance that the virus will spread further throughout the nation and surrounding area.
“A suspected outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in the Kagera region” of Tanzania was reported to the UN health agency’s member states on Monday.
As of right now, we know of nine occurrences, eight of which have resulted in fatalities. As disease surveillance gets better, we would anticipate more cases in the days ahead,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, stated on social media platform X.
“The Tanzanian government and impacted communities have received WHO’s full assistance.”
Less than a month had passed since the WHO announced that a three-month-long Marburg epidemic in neighboring Rwanda had killed 15 people.
A extremely contagious hemorrhagic fever is caused by Marburg. It is spread by fruit bats and is a member of the same virus family as Ebola.
Marburg’s fever frequently results in hemorrhage and organ failure, and its death rate can approach 90%.
According to WHO, the first Marburg outbreak in the Kagera region occurred in March 2023 and lasted for about two months, resulting in nine cases and six fatalities.
“Zoonotic reservoirs, such as fruit bats, remain endemic to the area,” it noted.
According to WHO, a number of alarming circumstances led to its assessment of the risk at the national level as “high.”
“The source of the outbreak is currently unknown,” the high known fatality rate of 89 percent, and the fact that cases had been documented from two districts, indicating “geographic spread,” were among them.
It said that there was not “complete information” on the outbreak because of “the delayed detection and isolation of cases, coupled with ongoing contact tracing.”
Because of Kagera’s “strategic location as a transit hub with significant cross-border movement of population to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the UN health agency also assessed the regional risk as “high.”
According to the report, “highlighting the potential for spread into neighboring countries,” several of the probable cases were found in districts close to international borders.
“We advise surrounding nations to remain vigilant and ready to handle any possible situations. At this time, we do not advise travel or trade restrictions with Tanzania,” Tedros stated on X.
According to WHO, Marburg is difficult to transfer and usually involves coming into touch with bodily fluids from a sick person who is exhibiting obvious symptoms.
That being said, “it cannot be ruled out that a person who has been exposed to the virus may be traveling.”
It rated the worldwide danger as “low,” emphasizing the necessity for increased surveillance while noting that there was currently no proof of international spread.
AFP
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