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Marburg virus outbreak detected in Tanzania kills 5 people, hundreds being monitored

Five people are dead following eight confirmed cases of the first-ever outbreak of the Marburg virus in Tanzania, health officials are reporting.

Marburg is a high-death viral hemorrhagic fever with symptoms broadly similar to those of Ebola, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a statement released late Tuesday, WHO reported the deaths of five people in the northwest Kagera region who they said developed symptoms including fever, vomiting, bleeding and renal failure.

Among the dead include a health worker, WHO reported. The three survivors were getting treatment as of Tuesday, with 161 contacts being monitored.

“The efforts by Tanzania’s health authorities to establish the cause of the disease is a clear indication of the determination to effectively respond to the outbreak,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, released in a statement.

Moeti said the health organization is working with the government to "rapidly scale up control measures to halt the spread of the virus.”

What is Marburg virus?

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in bats and spreads between people via close contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, or surfaces, like contaminated bed sheets.

Marburg causes Marburg virus disease, a hemorrhagic fever that can affect the body’s organs and cause bleeding, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Marburg virus is a zoonotic virus that, along with the six species of Ebola virus, comprises the filovirus family, the CDC said.

The rare virus was first identified in 1967 after it caused simultaneous outbreaks of disease in laboratories in Marburg, Germany and Belgrade, according to the CDC..

Thirty-one people who were exposed to the virus while conducting research on monkeys became ill, and seven died, according to the CDC.

African fruit bats are the reservoir hosts of the virus, the CDC said.

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Marburg virus disease symptoms

The incubation period for the disease is anywhere from 2 days to three weeks, according to the WHO.

  • Symptoms begin abruptly, with an intense fever and headache, according to the WHO.

  • A few days after the onset, many patients experience vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain for up to a week, WHO said.

  • Severe cases are accompanied by bleeding within the first week, according to WHO. Some patients vomit blood or pass it in their stool. Patients have also bleed from their gums, nose, and genitalia, the WHO said.

  • The disease can spread to the nervous system, causing patients to become confused, irritable and aggressive.

Most fatal cases last just over a week, the WHO said, adding that deaths are typically accompanied by severe blood loss and shock.

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Marburg virus treatment

There is no cure or specific treatment for Marburg disease, the CDC said.

Still, “Early supportive care with rehydration, and symptomatic treatment improves survival,” according to the WHO, which added that a range of drug and blood therapies to treat the disease were under development.

The CDC said the case-fatality rate for the disease has ranged from 23%-90%. In a 2004 outbreak in Angola, Marburg killed 90% of 252 people infected. Last year, there were two reported Marburg deaths in Ghana.

In 2008, an American returning from travel in Uganda was retroactively diagnosed with the illness after recovery, the CDC said.

Contributing: Orlando Mayorquin

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tanzania Marburg virus outbreak 2023 leaves 5 dead, 8 infected