Global health officials have raised alarms after a new outbreak of the ‘eye-bleeding’ Marburg virus has claimed the lives of nine people in Tanzania.
The highly lethal virus, which is similar to Ebola, has infected ten individuals in the Kagera region of Tanzania since the outbreak was officially announced last week. The death toll reflects the virus’s alarming 90% mortality rate.
The Kagera region, located in the northwest of Tanzania, is home to nearly three million people. Health experts are concerned that the virus could spread further, especially since the country’s main international airport in Dar es Salaam is easily accessible by train, raising the risk of wider transmission.
Ngashi Ngongo, from the Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC), said in an online briefing that health authorities are working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to contain the outbreak. They have identified around 281 people who had contact with the infected individuals, and these contacts are being closely monitored.
Ngongo reported that 31 tests have been conducted so far, with two confirming infections and the remaining 29 returning negative results.
Marburg is a hemorrhagic fever that damages organs and blood vessels, causing severe bleeding, often from the eyes, mouth, and ears. The virus spreads through contact with body fluids from an infected person, contaminated objects, or infected wild animals.
The WHO reports that Marburg has a case-fatality rate (CFR) of up to 88%, meaning it can kill nearly 9 out of 10 people it infects.
This outbreak in Tanzania comes less than a month after a Marburg outbreak in neighboring Rwanda was declared over. That outbreak infected 66 people, 80% of whom were healthcare workers. Rwanda’s response was praised for its relatively low death rate of 23%, the lowest ever recorded for a Marburg outbreak in Africa.
