Tanzania declares Marburg virus outbreak that has killed five people

A mysterious disease that has killed five people in Tanzania has been identified as originating from the Marburg virus, a cousin of Ebola which also causes a virulent hemorrhagic fever, the health ministry announced on Tuesday March 21

Tanzania declares Marburg virus outbreak that has killed five people

A mysterious disease that has killed five people in Tanzania has been identified as originating from the Marburg virus, a cousin of Ebola which also causes a virulent hemorrhagic fever, the health ministry announced on Tuesday March 21. "Results from our public health laboratory confirmed that the disease was caused by the Marburg virus," Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu said, appealing to the public for calm "as the government has managed to contain the spread of the disease. disease ".

Three patients are hospitalized and 161 contact cases are being followed by the authorities, she added: "There is no reason to panic or to interrupt economic activities (...) We have everything we it takes to control this contagious disease. »

The East African country last week sent an emergency medical team to the Kagera region (northwest) to investigate the disease. Uganda, which borders the region and experienced its last outbreak in 2017, said it was on "high alert".

In Equatorial Guinea, west of the Southern Zone, eleven people also died of Marburg virus disease in an outbreak first reported on January 7.

Tanzania, which has never recorded a case of Marburg virus, has had to deal with other major health emergencies such as cholera and dengue in the past three years. "The lessons learned and the progress made during the recent epidemics should put the country in a good position to face this new challenge, recalled in a press release on Tuesday, the director of the regional office of the World Health Organization. Health (WHO) Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti. We will continue to work closely with health authorities to save lives. »

"No Holes"

The Marburg virus is a very dangerous pathogen that causes high fever often accompanied by hemorrhages affecting several organs and reducing the body's ability to function properly. It is part of the filovirus family, to which the Ebola virus belongs, which has already caused several deadly epidemics in Africa.

The WHO praised the rapid response to the outbreak, adding that it was ready if it needed to ensure "there are no holes in the health response". "I call on community leaders to join efforts with the government to ensure that contacts of the sick are identified and those who need care receive it in a timely manner," said Zabulon Yoti, a representative of the WHO.

The natural host of the Marburg virus is an African fruit bat, which carries it but does not get sick from it. The virus takes its name from the German city of Marburg, where it was first identified in 1967, in a laboratory where workers had come into contact with infected green monkeys imported from Uganda. Animals can transmit it to primates living near them, including humans. Intrahuman transmission then occurs through contact with blood or other infected bodily fluids.

The case fatality rate of confirmed cases ranged from 24% to 88% with an average of just under 50% in previous epidemics, depending on the strain of the virus and the treatment of the patients, the WHO said. There is currently no vaccine or antiviral treatment, but experimental treatments, including blood derivatives, immunotherapies and drug therapies, are being evaluated.

Other outbreaks or isolated cases have been reported in the past in South Africa, Angola, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.