After 8 deaths in this country… a warning about the highly contagious Marburg virus!

The World Health Organization announced a possible outbreak of the “Marburg” virus in Tanzania, which resulted in the death of 8 people, warning that the risk of the virus spreading in Tanzania and neighboring countries is “high.”

The Director-General of the Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the organization is aware of nine cases so far, including 8 deaths, and it is likely that more cases will be recorded in the coming days as disease monitoring improves. Ghebreyesus added through his account on the “X” platform that the organization offered its full support to the Tanzanian government and the affected communities.

This warning comes less than a month after. The World Health Organization reported an outbreak of the “Marburg” virus in neighboring Rwanda for 3 months, resulting in 15 deaths.

The “Marburg” virus is a highly contagious virus that causes hemorrhagic fever. It is transmitted to humans from fruit bats and belongs to the same family as the “Ebola” viruses. Mortality rates in cases of infection can reach approximately 90%, and the disease is usually accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.

According to the organization, the Kagera region in Tanzania witnessed the first outbreak of the virus in March 2023, when 9 people were infected, 6 of whom died. The organization noted that animal reservoirs of the virus, such as fruit bats, are still endemic in the region.

Symptoms of Marburg virus disease are fever, headache, back, muscle, and abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, and bleeding in the late stages. Despite its rarity, the virus poses a major threat to public health due to its high mortality rate and the lack of an effective treatment or vaccine. (Erm News)