A suspected outbreak of the Marburg virus in northwestern Tanzania has infected nine people, eight of whom have died, according to the World Health Organization, weeks after the outbreak was declared over in neighboring Rwanda, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
Viral hemorrhagic fever has a mortality rate of up to 88% and belongs to the same family of viruses as the Ebola virus, which is transmitted to humans from bats endemic to this part of East Africa.
The WHO reported that it had received credible reports of suspected cases in the Kagera region of Tanzania on January 10 with symptoms of headache, fever, back pain, diarrhea, vomiting of blood, muscle weakness and external bleeding.
Samples from two patients are awaiting testing at a national laboratory in Tanzania to confirm the outbreak, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday.
Patient contacts, including health care workers, have been identified and are under surveillance, the WHO said.
Addendum
The outbreak in Rwanda, which borders Tanzania's Kagera region, infected 66 people and killed 15 before it was declared over on December 20.
The Marburg virus can be transmitted from person to person through direct contact or blood and other bodily fluids of infected people, including contaminated bedding or clothing.
The outbreak in the Kagera region in March of 2013 claimed the lives of six people and lasted almost two months.