Tanzania confirms the presence of the Marburg virus on its soil for the first time. Five people have already been killed by the virus detected in the Kagera region of northwestern Tanzania, near the border with Uganda. The Ministry of Health ensures that everything is done to contain its spread.
With our correspondent in the region, Florence Morice
The first suspected cases were reported last week in the villages of Bulinda and Butayibega. All patients presented similar symptoms Marburg virus: fever, vomiting, bleeding or kidney failure.
Same family of Ebola
The infection at marburg virus was confirmed by analysis of samples taken by the Tanzanian Ministry of Health. Of eight patients declared affected, five died. The other three are currently hospitalized.
This virus, which appeared in Germany in the 1960s, belongs to the same family that Ebola. It is transmitted the same way: through blood contact or through other bodily fluids. Its lethality rate is between 24 and 88%, according to the WHO, and no vaccine or targeted treatment currently exists.
“ Keep calm »
The Tanzanian Minister of Health, Ummy Mwalimu, however, calls on the population to ” keep calm “. She assures that everything is in place for “ contain the spread of the virus “. 161 contact cases have been identified and are being monitored.
Uganda, a neighbor of the affected Kagera region, said it was ” on alert “. For its part, the WHO hailed the rapid reaction of the Tanzanian authorities, which contrasts with the attitude of the administration at the time of ex-president Magufuli. The latter had denied the presence of the Covid-19 in the country and refused to cooperate with the World Health Organization.