Nine cases of the deadly disease have been reported in the Kagera region of Tanzania so far. But officials expect that number to rise.

Tanzania has dismissed a World Health Organisation (WHO) report of a suspected new outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in the north-west of the country. On Tuesday, the global health agency said a total of nine suspected cases were reported over the last five days in the Kagera region, including eight deaths.

Tanzania’s Ministry of Health has deployed a team of experts to the Kagera region to collect specimens and conduct laboratory tests following reports of a suspected outbreak of Marburg virus

The WHO reported nine suspected cases of Marburg virus, resulting in eight deaths across two districts in Tanzania. It suspects that the virus could spread farther as the outbreak region borders Uganda,

With the fatality rate of 8% it is the same virus family as Ebola. The main carrier is from fruit bats which spreads to humans then through the contact of bodily fluids of infected individuals, it spreads to others.

Tanzania’s Health Minister, Jenista Mhagama, said after samples of suspected cases were tested, they were found to be negative for the Ebola-like virus.

Tanzania reported no Marburg virus cases after WHO suspected an outbreak in northwest Kagera. Health Minister Jenista Mhagama stated all tests returned negative. Meanwhile, WHO cited deaths with typical Marburg symptoms.

In March 2023, Tanzania reported its first Marburg virus outbreak, which also occurred in Kagera region. The outbreak was declared over in June 2023, with nine infections reported, six of them fatal. The WHO said zoonotic reservoirs of the virus, such as fruit bats, remain in the area.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A suspected outbreak of the Marburg virus in northwest Tanzania has infected nine people, killing eight of them, the World Health Organization has said, weeks after an outbreak of the disease was declared over in neighbouring Rwanda.