The Tanzanian government has denied the presence of a Marburg virus outbreak in the country, despite reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) of suspected cases in the northwest region.
The Ministry of Health issued a statement on Wednesday confirming that laboratory tests conducted on all suspected individuals have returned negative for the Marburg virus.
The WHO had previously reported suspected cases with symptoms consistent with Marburg virus disease, including fever, headache, and bleeding.
Marburg virus is a highly contagious disease with a high fatality rate.
The Tanzanian government has taken immediate action to investigate the reported cases, deploying a team of experts to the affected region to conduct thorough investigations and collect samples for laboratory testing.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the importance of sending samples to international reference laboratories for further analysis and continued surveillance activities.