Marburg virus outbreak in Tanzania: confirmed
20 Jan 2025
On 20 January 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Tanzania confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in Biharamulo and Muleba Districts, Kagera Region, Tanzania.
As of 20 January 2025, there have been 20 suspected cases and 1 confirmed case. Eight deaths have been reported.
Kagera Region is in the northeast of Tanzania, bordering Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. An outbreak of Marburg virus disease occurred in Kagera in 2023. More recently, an outbreak of Marburg virus disease occurred in neighbouring Rwanda in late 2024.
Advice for Travellers
Marburg virus disease is a type of viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF), similar to Ebola. The virus is found in African fruit bats and can be passed to people when they have contact with these bats, or the caves/mines in which they live. People can also be infected from contact with people, or monkeys or apes with Marburg virus disease. There is no specific treatment for Marburg virus disease and there no vaccine to prevent it.
In general, the risk to travellers becoming infected or developing Marburg virus disease is extremely low. However:
- If you are travelling to a known Marburg outbreak area, you must be aware of the risk of infection and transmission routes of Marburg virus.
- Medical personnel travelling to work in an outbreak region must follow strict infection prevention control guidance.
If you return home from a Marburg outbreak area, you should seek rapid medical attention by contacting NHS 24 (Scotland) or NHS 111 (rest of UK) for advice prior to attending UK medical facilities if you develop a high temperature (fever) and have:
- returned to the UK within 21 days from a region or area where there is an outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease
- had contact with people infected with a VHF
For further information, see the fitfortravel Viral Haemorrhagic Fever page.