Outbreak kills 8, suspected Marburg virus has terrifying 88% fatality rate

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported Wednesday that a suspected outbreak of Marburg disease has claimed eight lives in a remote region of northern Tanzania.

Why It Matters

Without treatment, Marburg, which is thought to originate from bats, can have a fatality rate of up to 88 percent, making it one of the deadliest known diseases. Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and in severe cases, death from extreme blood loss.

What to Know

The outbreak of Marburg disease, a deadly viral hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, has triggered an urgent response from health authorities, with efforts focused on containment and enhanced monitoring to address the potential spread.

What Is Marburg Virus?

Similar to Ebola, the Marburg virus is believed to originate in fruit bats and spreads between humans through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated surfaces, such as soiled bedding.

Is Marburg Disease Curable?

There is no authorized vaccine or specific treatment for Marburg, increasing the urgency of containment measures as health officials respond to the outbreak in northern Tanzania.

Where Did Marburg Disease Come From?

Previous outbreaks have occurred across sub-Saharan Africa; however, the first cases were recorded in Germany and Serbia (then part of Yugoslavia) in 1967 when laboratory workers handling African green monkeys imported from Uganda contracted the disease. That outbreak led to 31 cases and a total of seven deaths.

The largest outbreak on record occurred in 2005 in Angola, when 329 people died.

In 2023, an outbreak in Kagera, a region of Tanzania bordering Rwanda, claimed at least five lives.

A recent outbreak in Rwanda, reported on Sept. 27, was declared over on Dec. 20. That outbreak resulted in 66 cases and 15 deaths, with health care workers handling the initial patients among the hardest hit.

What People Are Saying

Jimmy Whitworth, emeritus professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Newsweek: “Identifying that you’ve got an outbreak of Marburg is really important so that you’re able to put control measures into place. It seems to be widespread within the country, and a high proportion of health care workers are infected. That means that there’s been a breakdown in infection prevention control.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement “We are aware of nine cases so far, including eight people who have died.” He added “We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves.”

What Happens Next

The WHO has assessed the risk from the suspected Marburg outbreak in northern Tanzania as high at national and regional levels, though it remains low globally.

Tanzanian health authorities have yet to comment on the situation.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press