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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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But in a statement, Tanzania’s Health Minister Jenista Mhagama said after samples were analysed, all suspected cases were found negative for Marburg virus. <\/p>\n
She said that the country had strengthened its surveillance systems and disease monitoring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
We “would like to assure the international organisations, including WHO that we shall always keep them up to date with ongoing developments,” Mhagama said.<\/p>\n
Tanzania experienced its first Marburg outbreak in March 2023 in the Bukoba district. It killed six people and lasted for nearly two months.<\/p>\n
The highly infectious disease is similar to Ebola, with symptoms including fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of “further cases in the coming days as disease surveillance improves” in the latest suspected outbreak in Tanzania. <\/p>\n
The WHO reported that patients, including healthcare workers, had been identified and were being monitored.<\/p>\n
It added that the country’s rapid response teams had been deployed to help identify suspected cases and contain the outbreak.<\/p>\n
The WHO cautioned that the risk of the suspected virus spreading in the region remained “high” because Kagera was a transit hub with much cross-border movement to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.<\/p>\n
“We do not recommend travel or trade restrictions with Tanzania at this time,” Dr Tedros said on X.<\/p>\n
The WHO said the global risk posed by the outbreak was “low”, and there were no concerns at this stage of the disease spreading internationally. <\/p>\n
Following the reports, a team of experts was immediately deployed to Kagera region, where they collected specimens, said Tanzania’s health minister.<\/p>\n
She said that laboratory results had ruled out the suspected Marburg outbreak but the minister did not clarify the total number of suspected cases investigated. <\/p>\n
In December, neighbouring Rwanda declared an outbreak in the country, which had infected 66 people and killed 15, was over. <\/p>\n