Tanzania declares end to Marburg Virus outbreak

TANZANIA—Tanzania has officially declared an end to its Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreak, having gone 42 days without new cases since the passing of the last confirmed patient on January 28, 2025.

This was the second recorded outbreak in the country, with both incidents occurring in the northeastern Kagera region.

During this outbreak, which was first declared on January 20, 2025, a total of two confirmed cases and eight probable cases were reported, all of whom unfortunately lost their lives to the disease.

In response to this urgent public health crisis, Tanzanian authorities acted swiftly, coordinating control measures with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and various partners.

Their efforts focused on enhancing clinical care, implementing infection prevention protocols, and running community awareness campaigns to stop the virus from spreading.

Learning from the 2023 outbreak in the same area, Tanzania drew on its growing expertise in managing health emergencies to unveil an effective response.

WHO played a crucial role by working side by side with local authorities. Key initiatives included ramping up disease surveillance systems and training over 1,000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care, and risk communication.

In addition, WHO dispatched more than five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment to strengthen Tanzania’s healthcare infrastructure during the crisis.

Dr. Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO’s Representative in Tanzania, praised the commitment of healthcare workers and national authorities in controlling the outbreak.

He highlighted that while the outbreak has been officially declared over, ongoing vigilance is vital to quickly detect and respond to any future cases.

Psychosocial support continues to be available for families affected by the outbreak.

Looking to the future, measures are being put in place to enhance the capacity of local health facilities to handle potential outbreaks.

This includes procuring additional laboratory supplies and equipment for disease detection and surveillance.

The Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and belongs to the same family as Ebola, leading to hemorrhagic fever with symptoms like high fever, severe headaches, and general malaise, often culminating in severe bleeding within a week.

Previous outbreaks in Africa have affected countries such as Angola, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

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