The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a suspected outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in the Kagera region of northwestern Tanzania, with nine people reportedly infected, of whom eight have died.

Nine cases of the deadly disease have been reported in the Kagera region of Tanzania so far. But officials expect that number to rise.

WHO reported eight suspected cases of the Marburg virus in Tanzania. However, health officials in the country have denied the presence of the virus.

Marburg virus is a close cousin of Ebola, causing similar symptoms and spreading in the same way. It can cause death in up to 88% of infected people.

Tanzanian authorities deny Marburg virus presence after WHO reports deaths, with laboratory tests returning negative.

Tanzania has pushed back against a report from the World Health Organization warning of a new Marburg virus outbreak in the country.

Marburg virus disease, caused by a virus from the same family as Ebola, has a fatality rate of up to 88% without treatment.

In March 2023, Tanzania reported its first Marburg virus outbreak, which also occurred in Kagera region. The outbreak was declared over in June 2023, with nine infections reported, six of them fatal. The WHO said zoonotic reservoirs of the virus, such as fruit bats, remain in the area.

A suspected outbreak of the Marburg virus in northwest Tanzania has infected nine people, killing eight of them, the World Health Organization has said, weeks after an outbreak of the disease was declared over in neighbouring Rwanda.