An untreatable Ebola-like virus is on the rise in Tanzania, global health chiefs have warned.
Marburg, one of the deadliest pathogens ever discovered, has already infected nine people, killing eight of them.
There are currently no vaccines or treatments available meaning medics are forced to focus on helping patients survive the infection instead.
This often puts health workers at direct risk of the virus, which can cause people to bleed from their eyes, as it is passed on through infected bodily fluids.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed teams to the African nation’s north-eastern Kagera region, where all cases so far have been spotted.
But doctors are also being warned to be on the lookout for cases in neighbouring countries such as Rwanda and Burundi, sparking fears that the virus may be spreading under the radar.
Local officials initially raised the alarm last week after a mystery illness struck six people, killing five of them.
Experts believed Marburg was to blame following preliminary tests.
Marburg virus, a relative of Ebola, causes people to bleed from their orifices and kills up to nine in ten patients
Marburg has a mortality rate of up to 88 per cent. There are currently no vaccines or treatments approved to treat the virus
As of January 11, the toll had risen to nine suspected cases and eight deaths across two districts – Biharamulo and Muleba – the WHO said.
Marburg is a haemorrhagic fever – where organs and blood vessels are damaged, causing bleeding internally or from the eyes, mouth and ears.
The virus can be spread by touching or handling body fluids of an infected person, contaminated objects or infected wild animals. It is said initially to be transmitted to people after prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by fruit bats.
Symptoms appear abruptly and include severe headaches, fever, diarrhoea, stomach pain and vomiting. They become increasingly severe.
In the early stages of Marburg haemorrhagic fever, it is very difficult to distinguish from other tropical illnesses, such as Ebola and malaria.
Infected patients become ‘ghost-like’, often developing deep-set eyes and expressionless faces.
The WHO says it has a case-fatality ratio (CFR) of up to 88 per cent, meaning it can kill nearly nine in ten people it infects.
The outbreak in Tanzania comes less than a month after a Marburg outbreak in neighbouring Rwanda was officially declared over.
‘We would expect further cases in the coming days as disease surveillance improves,’ WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X earlier this week
A total of 66 people were infected, roughly 80 per cent of which were healthcare workers.
The country reported 15 deaths, with Rwanda’s response praised internationally for its low death rate of 23 per cent – the lowest ever for a Marburg outbreak in Africa.
In March 2023, Tanzania’s Bukoba district experienced its first Marburg virus outbreak, which is thought to have killed six people and lasted for nearly two months.
But Tanzania’s health authorities have not yet confirmed this latest outbreak.
‘We would expect further cases in the coming days as disease surveillance improves,’ WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X earlier this week.
In a separate statement, WHO officials also said: ‘The source of the outbreak is currently unknown.
‘The delayed detection and isolation of cases, coupled with ongoing contact tracing, indicates lack of a full information of the current outbreak.
‘More cases are expected to be identified.
Marburg virus (MVD) is initially transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.
‘The regional risk is considered high due to Kagera region’s strategic location as a transit hub, with significant cross-border movement of the population to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
‘Reportedly, some of the suspected cases are in districts near international borders, highlighting the potential for spread into neighbouring countries.
‘Marburg is not easily transmissible. In most instances, it requires contact with the body fluids of a sick patient presenting with symptoms or with surfaces contaminated with these fluids.
‘However, it cannot be excluded that a person exposed to the virus may be travelling.’
In spite of the regional threat, global risk remains low as the virus does not spread easily between people, WHO said.
